Essentials of Migration Management for Policy Makers and Practitioners

1. Essentials of Migration Management for Policy Makers and Practitioners Section 3.9 Return Migration

2. Section 3.9 Return Migration Learning Objectives • understand the essential role of voluntary return migration in maintaining the integrity of a migration management system • understand the importance of involuntary return for a comprehensive migration management policy • identify the main elements in voluntary migrant return, reintegration, and sustainability • increase your ability to determine and implement voluntary return and reintegration measures that are appropriate for your setting • identify the circumstances that may require the involuntary or enforced return of irregular migrants • improve your ability to implement a programme of enforced return in your setting Essentials of Migration Management

3. Section 3.9 Return Migration Topic Titles Topic One: The Framework for Return Migration Policy Topic Two: Assisting Voluntary Return Topic Three: Designing a Programme for Assisted Voluntary Return Topic Four: Involuntary Return Migration Topic Five: Enforcing Returns Essentials of Migration Management

4. Section 3.9 Return Migration Terms and Concepts Administrative removal A process that applies to people who overstay, those working (or claiming benefits) in breach of their conditions for residence, and people who use deception to gain authorized permission to remain Assisted return Occurs where financial and organizational assistance may be offered for the return, and sometimes for reintegration measures, to the individual by the State or by a third party; for example an international organization Country of destination The country a person intends to reach, when engaging in a migratory movement Country of origin The country of residence from which a person engaging in a migratory movement comes. This may differ from "country of return" in cases of ethnic returns and in the case of returns to first country of asylum. (Continued) Essentials of Migration Management

5. Section 3.9 Return Migration Terms and Concepts Country of return The country to which a person is returned. This may be their country of origin or of former habitual residence, but an increasing number of readmission agreements deal with readmission of non-nationals to transit countries. Country of transit The intermediate country or countries of passage positioned on a migrant’s route to an intended destination Deportation A process that applies to people who have refused a lawful order to depart, committed criminal offences, or cases where the removal of a person from the host State would be conducive to the public good Forced return Return that is not undertaken by the individual voluntarily (Continued) Essentials of Migration Management

6. Section 3.9 Return Migration Terms and Concepts Host country The country hosting a non-national irrespective of the status of the person, and whether on a temporary or permanent basis Interceptions Interception is defined by UNHCR as any measure applied by a State outside its national territory to prevent, interrupt, or stop the movement of persons without required documentation from crossing borders by land, air, or sea and making their way to the country of prospective destination. Irregular migration Migration that takes place outside the norms and procedures established by States to manage the orderly flow of migrants into, through, and out of their territories Readmission agreement An agreement, usually bilateral in nature, setting out procedures whereby a State can return irregular migrants to their home state or to a transit state (Continued) Essentials of Migration Management

7. Section 3.9 Return Migration Terms and Concepts Re-emigration The movement of a person who, after returning to his or her country of departure, leaves again for another stay or destination Repatriation This term has a strict legal meaning, recognized in international law, and refers to convention refugees returning to their places of origin, prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and 1951, civilians in times of war, and diplomats in times of crises as per the Vienna Conventions of 1961 and 1963. Return Return refers broadly to the act of going back from a country (either transit or destination) to the country of previous transit or origin. Spontaneous return Occurs when the individual decides upon and implements the return himself or herself (Continued) Essentials of Migration Management

8. Section 3.9 Return Migration Terms and Concepts Third country national The most common reference to third country nationals is within the context of bilateral readmission agreements, where the returnee is not a national of the contracting parties. A third country national is also referred to in the context of returns, when the person intended to be returned is neither a national of the host country nor of any country within the host country’s region. For example, in the context of the EU, a third country national in Germany would only include nationals from outside the EU. Voluntary return Return based on the voluntary decision of the individual. The concept of voluntary return requires more than an absence of coercive factors. A voluntary decision is defined by the absence of any physical, psychological, or material coercion but in addition, the decision is based on adequate, available, accurate, and objective information. Essentials of Migration Management

9. Return Migration Topic One The Framework for Return Migration Policy

10. Topic OneThe Framework for Return Migration Policy Important Points • The sheer scale of return migration, particularly related to irregular migration and the mass displacements stemming from emergency situations in countries of origin, has created new challenges and opened up possibilities for return. • At the international level, there has been an endorsement of the need to have a comprehensive approach to migration management that addresses political and developmental issues. • In 1994, the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development called on all states to manage returns through dialogue and constructive interaction. (Continued) Essentials of Migration Management

11. Topic OneThe Framework for Return Migration Policy 4.An increasing variety of partnerships are being developed to manage migration because increasing interaction between humanitarian, economic, social, smuggling, and trafficking factors is making migration more complex and multi-directional. 5. A convergence of interests and cooperation in processing and assisting migrants stranded in transit can also eventually lead to complementary technical assistance initiatives. 6. Irregular migrants may require assistance to return from countries of transit en route to their intended destination where they may be destitute and without the means to find their own way home. 7. Models of cooperation between countries of origin, transit, and destination are evolving to cope with this phenomenon that often involves mixed migrant flows. (Continued) Essentials of Migration Management

12. Topic OneThe Framework for Return Migration Policy 8. At a national level, it is useful to have arrangements for inter-departmental exchanges of information. 9. Sustainable returns are a key element to any removal policy. 10. The sustainable return of people, both voluntarily and enforced, should be facilitated through policy initiatives that encourage third-country cooperation on post-return incentives. Essentials of Migration Management

13. Topic OneThe Framework for Return Migration Policy Return migration • A number of international instruments refer to the rights of migrants and to return. The most important reference is in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 13(2), which states: “everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country”. • The U.N. Protocols against migrant smuggling and human trafficking enjoin States to facilitate and accept, without undue or unreasonable delay, the return of their nationals or permanent residents. • A large number of labour migrants from developing countries have often been recruited with no intention to provide them with permanent resettlement, nor support for their return, when facing political or economic downturns in the host country. Essentials of Migration Management

14. Return Migration Topic Two Assisting Voluntary Return

15. Topic TwoAssisting Voluntary Return Important Points • In general, many migrants may intend to return when they emigrate but the intention to return may gradually subside in proportion to the time spent in the host country. • The effectiveness of voluntary return programmes is often dependent on the degree to which returnees are made aware of the availability of an Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) capacity and on their being informed about the return process itself, including conditions awaiting them in their country of origin. (Continued) Essentials of Migration Management

16. Topic TwoAssisting Voluntary Return • AVR is an indispensable component of migration management because it: • ensures the integrity of regular migration programmes while respecting international principles and standards concerning migrants in irregular situations • enhances cooperation between countries of origin and host countries • promotes the sustainability of the return through reintegration measures that support the socio-economic reintegration of returning persons • can be located in the context of international cooperation, where the needs and concerns of countries of origin, transit, and destination are recognized as important considerations. (Continued) Essentials of Migration Management

17. Topic TwoAssisting Voluntary Return • AVR represents a more humane and administratively less cumbersome option than return through deportation and is clearly interdependent with involuntary return.  5. Acceptance of the AVR option rests on there being no other choice, in light of the temporary nature of the status granted to the individuals in question. Essentials of Migration Management

18. Topic TwoAssisting Voluntary Return Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) • AVR can support temporary targeted returns and the return of vulnerable groups. • AVR can support development. • For migrants, AVR is a more humane and dignified alternative to forced return that is conducive to legal migration in the future. For host governments, AVR is more cost effective than forced returns and can often be a quicker solution. • For governments in countries of origin, AVR can support development and reconciliation efforts through targeted return and the reintegration and job placement of qualified nationals. Essentials of Migration Management

19. Return Migration Topic Three Designing a Programme for Assisted Voluntary Return

20. Topic ThreeDesigning a Programme for Assisted Voluntary Return Important Points • Eligibility criteria will depend on the objectives of the intervention and will impact on the nature of the assistance required. • Targeted return assistance schemes have evolved to complement traditional return assistance with a range of ancillary services. • Many Governments acknowledge the importance of ensuring that all those eligible are made aware of return assistance at any time from their arrival in the host country onward. • The provision of accurate information on the return process is critically important for an informed decision by the migrant based on accurate expectations. (Continued) Essentials of Migration Management

21. Topic ThreeDesigning a Programme for Assisted Voluntary Return 5. Information collected from the country of origin can facilitate management of returns by assisting migrants to prepare for reintegration opportunities upon return and to better manage their expectations of return. 6. Escorts are sometimes required when providing travel assistance to voluntary returnees in specific circumstances where migrants may require help in travelling along unfamiliar routes or to facilitate their passage at border points with non-standard documentation. Essentials of Migration Management

22. Topic ThreeDesigning a Programme for Assisted Voluntary Return Reintegration support • Unless the factors that compelled people to emigrate in the first place are addressed, a substantial number of returnees will not stay in the country of return, but will continue pursuing migration options in the face of unsustainable living conditions at home. • Reintegration assistance can range from pocket money upon return to limited, one-time reinstallation grants at the micro-level, to a variety of social and economic assistance measures or a transfer of some of the benefits accumulated in the host country. • Cash-based reintegration incentives may represent a pull factor in themselves, inducing a degree of “market research” for the most "generous returning host country" by would-be returnee migrants. Essentials of Migration Management

23. Topic ThreeDesigning a Programme for Assisted Voluntary Return • Key tools for return and reintegration assistance include: • information on conditions and prospects in the country of return • socio-economic profiling of potential returnees to assess their reintegration needs and motivation • Post-return monitoring can help ensure appropriate and sustainable delivery of reintegration assistance and make necessary adjustments to the programme. • Assistance provided to returnees should not substitute for, but rather facilitate access and use of, the existing social services and administrative structures in the countries of origin. Essentials of Migration Management

24. Return Migration Topic Four Involuntary Return Migration

25. Topic FourInvoluntary Return Migration Important Points • In the case of illegal entrants, notice of the decision to remove is served on the person, notifying him or her of any appeal rights. • An Administrative Removal process invalidates any previous permission to remain. The procedure for administrative removal is similar to that for illegal entrants, and removal under this category is at the public expense. • Deportation applies to people who have refused a lawful order to depart from the State, or who have committed criminal offences, or where deportation from the State would be conducive to the public good. • Before enforced removal is considered, human rights should be ensured by providing the right to an effective remedy and a judicial or quasi-judicial process. 5. The removal process should incorporate appropriate steps to temporarily postpone the removal or to grant permission to stay under certain circumstances. Essentials of Migration Management

26. Topic FourInvoluntary Return Migration Managing the Appeals Process • An appeals process is an integral part of any migration policy, and an individual subject to enforced removal should be given the right to appeal against this decision or any prior administrative decision that led to the order to remove. • States have developed a number of ways to balance this obligation with the need for efficiency in the removal process. • In some instances, this balance is achieved through "streamlining" the appeals process by ensuring that as much information as possible is taken into account in making the administrative decision. • Some States have introduced non-suspensive appeals where lodging an appeal does not suspend the decision to remove the claimant. • States are also developing approaches to a “fast-track” appeals process. Essentials of Migration Management

27. Return Migration Topic Five Enforcing Returns

28. Topic FiveEnforcing Returns Important Points • In some instances, States have adopted a standardized "one way" document for the return of undocumented persons. • Several other initiatives can be instituted to assist in overcoming these problems. These include: • applying for documents at an earlier stage in the consideration process • keeping regular contact and building dialogue with countries where problems of documentation have arisen • dedicating a specific operational unit to the task of obtaining documents. (Continued) Essentials of Migration Management

29. Topic FiveEnforcing Returns 3. The use of readmission agreements and less formal memoranda of understanding to facilitate the re-documentation of persons is also an approach some policy makers can consider. 4. Escorts may be used to assist in the removals process by ensuring the safe return of the returnee when they are transferred back to their country of origin. Essentials of Migration Management

30. Topic FiveEnforcing Returns The issue of detention • The ability to detain may be necessary as part of the removals process. • International practice reflects the view that detention is usually justified in the following circumstances: • initially to establish a person's identity • where there is reason to believe that the person will fail to comply with any conditions attached to a grant of temporary admission or release • as part of a fast-track process • to effect removal. • Detention should always be for the shortest possible time, although there should be a presumption in favour of temporary admission or release. (Continued) Essentials of Migration Management

31. Topic FiveEnforcing Returns • In the case of detention as part of the removal process, countries differ in their policy and practice in regard to the reasons for detaining, the length of detention, and conditions of detention. • International standards and practice, however, make it clear that this is a form of "administrative detention" in that the persons detained are not to be regarded or treated at criminal violators. • Detention in the case of removal should occur as close to the time of return as possible. • When considering detention pending removal, special attention should be given to certain vulnerable groups of people, who should generally not be detained: the elderly, pregnant women, people with serious medical conditions or those who are mentally ill, and people with serious disabilities. Essentials of Migration Management

32. Topic FiveEnforcing Returns Readmission Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) • Readmission agreements can support removals programmes by establishing the formalities of readmission with the country of origin or the country of transit. • Considerable efforts in recent years have led to a significant increase in readmission agreements internationally. • Whereas readmission agreements are formal treaties, MOUs are informal agreements between States that set out guidelines for the return of people to their country of origin. Essentials of Migration Management

33. Last Slide Section 3.9 Return Migration