Where can I find out about support for returning home voluntarily?
Are you thinking about returning to your home country? Maybe you don’t know how and when a return will be possible – or maybe you doubt how to get back on your feet after returning home. There might be support programmes for you and there is lots of information out there for you.
Three good ways to start
If you want to return home after leaving a difficult situation behind, good advice can be crucial for success. Germany offers you three ways to ask for individual advice:
- Online information: Find information about voluntary return and reintegration options here and more detailed information at www.returningfromgermany.de and www.startfinder.de
- Telephone hotline: The returnee hotline of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) informs you about support programmes, your nearest counselling centre and the return process. The staff will also provide you with information on reintegration programmes in your country of origin. Call
+49 911 943-0 - Return counselling centres: There are more than 1,000 independent and governmental return counselling centres in Germany, where migrants can receive individual and non-binding counselling on voluntary return. Two websites provide databases on return counselling centres:
www.startfinder.de
https://www.integplan.de/Advisory-Centres.635.0.html?&L=1
Is there a migration advice centre in your country?
Migration advice centres provide tailored advice on the options available to returnees. They also offer advice to local people who seek information on job opportunities in their country and to people interested in migration via regular channels. Several such centres are already run on behalf of the BMZ in Afghanistan, Albania, Ghana, Iraq (Erbil and Baghdad), Kosovo, Morocco, Serbia and Morocco, Tunisia, Iraq, Ghana, Nigeria (Abuja, Benin-City, Lagos), and Senegal, Serbia, and Tunisia. Efforts are under way to establish more of these centres in other countries.
The centres provide a wide array of services:
- Access to training
- Job hunting and job placement
- Advice on support to start a business (loans, etc.)
- Advice on options for regular migration to Germany
- Mobile and virtual information points
- Training for employment agency staff
- Advice on other interesting projects Germany is funding
Currently available centres outside Germany:
Afghanistan
Phone: +93 79 904 7915
E-mail: reintegration-afghanistan@giz.de
Albania
Phone: +355 69 7060 005 (mobile)
E-mail: dimak-albania@giz.de
Kosovo
Phone: +383 38 22 33 44
E-mail: dimak-kosovo@giz.de
Serbia
Phone: +381 11 24 01 681
E-mail: dimak-serbia@giz.de
Tunisia
Phone: +216 71 842 590
E-mail: tuniso-allemand@giz.de
Morocco
Phone: + 212 522271743
Phone: + 212 522490069
E-mail: maroco-allemand@giz.de
Iraq
Phone: +964 (0)770 668 56 26 (Erbil)
Phone: +964 (0)770 668 56 26 (Baghdad)
Phone: +964 751 741 1655
E-mail: mac-iraq@giz.de
Ghana
Phone: + 233 556 7585 16
Phone: + 233 556 7585 18
Email: migrationadvicecentreghana@giz.de
Phone: +234 70 87 14 01 79 (Abuja)
Phone: +234 81 54 99 08 88 (Lagos)
Phone: +234 70 53 49 31 68 (Benin-City)
You can find out about migration advice in your home country through the website www.startfinder.de, the telephone hotline or a return counselling centre (see above).
More information: http://www.bmz.de/en/issues/Sonderinitiative-Fluchtursachen-bekaempfen-Fluechtlinge-reintegrieren/deutsche_politik/aktionsfeld_4/index.jsp
Brochures: “Returning to New Opportunities”
- ENG http://www.bmz.de/de/zentrales_downloadarchiv/themen_und_schwerpunkte/flucht/Ruekkehrer_bmz_A5_210717_en_web.pdf
- FR
http://www.bmz.de/de/zentrales_downloadarchiv/themen_und_schwerpunkte/flucht/Ruekkehrer_bmz_A5_210717_fr_web.pdf - AR
http://www.bmz.de/de/zentrales_downloadarchiv/themen_und_schwerpunkte/flucht/Ruekkehrer_bmz_A5_210717_ar_web.pdf
Last update: 08/03/2018
