Return - IOM Publications - International Organization for Migration

Return Migration: Policies and Practices
Office for International Migration (Office des Migrations Internationales – OMI) in respect of
travel arrangements and a repatriation allowance.
Repatriation for Humanitarian Purposes (Repatriement humanitaire)
Based on a Circular by the Ministry of Social Affairs dated 14 September 1992, third-country
nationals and their families living in precarious conditions, who wish to return to their country
of origin may be entitled to repatriation assistance on humanitarian grounds.
Local Development/Migration Programme (Programme Développement Local
Migration)
This programme was launched in 1995 to facilitate the creation of individual enterprises by the
returnees. The implementing agency is the Ministry of Foreign affairs in close cooperation with
the Ministry of Social affairs through the OMI.
Generally, voluntary return assistance consists of:
Payment of the cost of transport;
Administrative assistance with the organization of the departure;
Provision of financial assistance per adult and per minor child.
Measures for the return of specific nationalities may also be adopted, such as the programme
established in 1999 to facilitate the return of Kosovars, which has been modified to address the
return of Afghan nationals in 2002-2003.
2.2 ADMINISTRATIVE AND PROCEDURAL ARRANGEMENTS
Institutions Responsible for Voluntary Return
The Ministry of Social Affairs, through the Office for International Migration, is responsible for
implementing assisted voluntary return programmes.
Operational Steps for Voluntary Return
As a rule, asylum seekers in the application process are not informed about the possibility of
voluntary return until a decision on their asylum application has been made. The reasoning
behind this practice, according to the French Office for Refugees and Stateless Persons (Office
Français de Protection des Réfugiés et Apatrides – OFPRA) is that to raise the issue before a
decision on asylum has been made would be in contravention of its mandate. Consequently, the
option of voluntary return is only raised when an invitation to leave the territory has been made,
following an asylum application rejection.
132