Voluntary return

Belgium organises returns on a voluntary basis for people living in our country without a permanent residence permit and who have decided to return to live in their home country. Fedasil is the government agency responsible for the voluntary return pro­gramme from Belgium. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is in charge of the practical organisation of the return journey. The journey is generally made by plane, but re­turns by bus are organised to some destinations, for instance the Balkan countries.

More information on: www.fedasil.be/en/voluntary-return

A large public

The voluntary return programme is aimed at all people who do not have a residence permit in Belgium, namely applicants for international protection in the middle of the procedure, applicants who have been turned down, and immigrants who have never applied for international protection. Often, it concerns migrants who have to, or who want to, leave Belgium, but do not have the financial or logistical resources required to do so.

A free decision

Returns are voluntary: it is the person who makes the decision to return. Fur­thermore, after applying, the person affected is always free to go back on his decision and decide not to leave. In this respect, voluntary returns are fundamentally different from forced re­turns, which are the responsibility of the Immigration Office (Office des étran­gers).

An accessible programme

The programme is designed to be accessible: whatever the person’s situation, he is free to return at any moment and therefore his decision to return must be taken into account. To that end, Fedasil is assisted by a large network of organisations able to inform and prepare people for a voluntary return.

Support for reintegration

The voluntary return programme may also include a section on reintegration into the home country. Such support is a guarantee of a realistic return: everything is done to make things easier for the person returning and to support him throughout the first year of his return. For the implementation of reintegration projects, Fedasil works with two organisations which benefit from a network of partners in different regions of the world: Caritas and IOM.