IOM Germany has launched a new website designed to help encourage migrants to return voluntarily to their home countries.

IOM Germany has developed an online portal for migrants considering returning voluntarily to their countries. The digital platform, ‘Returning from Germany’, will serve as a one-stop-shop for all necessary information on Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR).

With information on available voluntary return programmes, addresses of nearby return-counselling centres and data on the housing situation in cities of return, and more, ‘Returning from Germany’ offers comprehensive support. The portal will also serve as a tool for AVRR counsellors by showing an overview of programmes and support options available in Germany and after return that will be useful when providing advice to individual migrants.

The online platform was created in cooperation with the German Ministry of Interior and the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) and entered the testing phase on 11 May. The information is available in German and English – useful languages like Arabic or Serbo-Croatian will follow. The wide range of easily navigable  information will allow migrants to make an informed decision and access support mechanisms that are in place.