Return - IOM Publications - International Organization for Migration

Return Migration: Policies and Practices
Area, are explicitly excluded from this programme. The current return scheme gives refugees
and immigrants the opportunity to obtain counselling and apply for financial support towards
their return and resettlement in the country of origin or former country of residence.
2.2 ADMINISTRATIVE AND PROCEDURAL ARRANGEMENTS
Institutions Responsible for Voluntary Return
The Ministry of Refugees, Immigration and Integration Affairs (commonly known as the Ministry
of Integration) is responsible for formulating all immigration policies, and its Immigration
Service determines whether to grant asylum, residence permits or permits for family reunification.
The Ministry of Integration is responsible for providing individual counselling to aliens who
wish to return voluntarily, and has subsequently entrusted this task to the Danish Refugee Council
(DRC). This includes information about the asylum procedure, the Danish Repatriation Act,
expulsion and rejection rules, provisions of the Dublin Convention, implications of return and
the situation in the home country. The DRC also provides counselling about practical arrangements
for the return (e.g. travel plans and freight transportation) and can assist in obtaining the
necessary travel documentation.
Whenever necessary, the DRC also assists aliens in their relations with the municipalities, which
are responsible for granting financial support towards reintegration at home. This includes contacts
with local authorities on individual cases, as well as drafting, submitting and following up
on applications for financial support on the aliens’ behalf.
The Ministry of Integration also involves IOM in planning voluntary return projects, and implements
such projects in coordination with the Danish Red Cross, the Danish Immigration Service
and the National Commissioner of the Police. IOM also receives AVR applications from the
Danish Refugee Council on an ad hoc basis.
Operational Steps for Voluntary Return
An asylum applicant who wishes to terminate his/her application, or who has received a negative
asylum decision, may contact the Danish Refugee Council directly for return and reintegration
assistance, granted according to the provisions described below. Potential returnees may
also approach the National Commissioner of the Police or the Danish Immigration Service for
return assistance. The National Commissioner of Police or the Danish Immigration Service will
forward the AVR application to IOM for return arrangements. The Danish Refugee Council may
also forward AVR applications from refugees to IOM on a case-by-case basis.
In addition to the generic assistance for voluntary return, a number of country specific return
programmes have been implemented by IOM. In the past, a successful return programme was
implemented with the cooperation of the Danish Immigration Service, the Danish Red Cross
and the Danish Emergency Management Agency, for Kosovo nationals whose temporary protection
status in Denmark had lapsed.
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