Steps for counselling and organising the return from Greece
| AVRR Counsellor | Migration office / state department | |
|---|---|---|
| Actors in the return field Greece | IOM Greece | Ministry of Migration and Asylum, Ministry of Citizen Protection |
| First time counselling | x (IOM outreach team speaks about voluntary return; interested clients are referred to the IOM registration unit) | |
| Assisting with organizing travel documents | x | |
| Preparing the return of vulnerable clients | x (IOM has its own medical unit with 4 doctors and 4 nurses to prepare vulneralbe clients for return) | |
| Registering clients for professional training in EU country | NA | |
| Offering professional training in EU country | NA | |
| Applying for return budget | x (depending on where the client applies for voluntary return in Greece, mainland or island, the financial assistance differs) | |
| Granting return budget | x | |
| Applying for plane ticket | x | |
| Booking the plane / bus ticket | x (by IOM movement unit; every returnee flies from Athens airport) | |
| Applying for reintegration budget | x (by IOM reintegration unit) | |
| Preparing a business plan ( in case of business start-up) | x | |
| Granting reintegration budget | ||
| Final counselling | x (by IOM pre-departure unit) | |
| Organizing medical escort | x | |
| Disbursing return budget in EU country / giving cash assistance just before the departure | x ( at the airport by IOM airport operations team) | |
| Escort to airport | x | |
| Connecting returnee with reintegration partner | x | |
| Staying in touch with returnee | x |
Return budget
The IOM return program offers assistance of 1000€ per person to returnees who live on mainland Greece and 500€ per person to returnees who sign up for voluntary return on the Greek islands
Reintegration budget
- 1500€ per person (AMIF)
- The EEA grant also funds reintegration for vulnerable migrants (1,700€ per individual / 2000€ per family in-kind)
- Not every returnee receives the same fiancial assistance. The assistance is determined based on the individual adminstrative status and nationality.
Return numbers
| IOM Greece | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assisted voluntary return | NA | 951 | 2565 | 2737 | 3065 |
Top 5 countries of return
| IOM Greece – 2022 |
|---|
| 1. Georgia (1640) |
| 2. Pakistan (571) |
| 3. India (208) |
| 4. Iraq (155) |
| 5. Bangladesh (128) |
Return counselling providers and amount of counsellors
IOM Greece in 13 locations: between 30 and 40 staff working in the AVRR department
List of all IOM Greece units involved in return: Outreach, Reintegration and Cultural Mediation, Protection Unit, Health Division, Movement Unit, Pre-departure Unit and Reintegration Unit.
Special offer by IOM Greece: free accommodation and food for selected returnees in the OCAVRR Open Center in Athens
Contact in Greece
IOM – The UN Migration Agency
6, Dodekanisou, Alimos 174 56,
Athens, Greece
Tel. +30 210 9919 040
E-mail: iomathens@iom.int
Last update: July 2023