RESTART VI: Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration in the Country of Origin

'Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration in the Country of Origin – RESTART VI (MT/2015/AMIF/1.01)', part-financed by the European Union (EU) under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) 2014-2020 (75%) and by the Ministry for Home Affairs, Security, Reforms and Equality (MHSR) of Malta (25%), is a continuation of five Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) projects implemented in Malta by IOM, in cooperation with the Maltese authorities, since 2009. To date, over 350 persons have been assisted to return from Malta, mostly to sub-Saharan African and Asian countries.

The project aims at further supporting the efforts of the Government of Malta in making the possibility of assisted voluntary return and reintegration in countries of origin available to third-country (non-EU) nationals wishing to avail themselves of it, and to thereby contribute to the effectiveness of overall migration management.

The RESTART VI project started on 1 July 2016. It provides tailor-made assisted voluntary return and reintegration schemes to up to 170 third-country nationals, including persons in situations of vulnerability (e.g. persons with health-related needs, unaccompanied migrant children), who belong to the target group and who express their free will to return to their countries of origin. 

IOM’s activities within the framework of RESTART VI address all stages of the voluntary return process and consist of outreach, information dissemination, counselling, pre-departure assistance (travel arrangements, including facilitation of issuance of travel documents, purchase of flight tickets, arrangement of transit, arrival assistance, onward travel to final destination, medical/operational escorts, if needed), departure assistance, and provision of tailor-made reintegration packages to support returnees’ re-establishment in their countries of origin. Whenever feasible, reintegration monitoring is also carried out by IOM Missions in the countries of origin.  

Under the project, currently, applicants who are eligible for reintegration assistance, can decide which assistance package to opt for:

• In-cash support of EUR 2,000, if applicant has not yet received a decision in relation to their application for asylum from the International Protection Agency, enjoys protection in Malta, or has not applied for asylum; or EUR 1,500 if they did not qualify for international protection;

OR

• Reintegration assistance of EUR 4,000, including pre-departure cash allowance of EUR 200, and in-kind reintegration assistance of EUR 3,800 provided in the country of origin which can be used, for example, for small business set-up, vocational training, assistance with medical and/or other special needs.

For more information on the project, please refer to:

• Video on AVRR from Malta, available in English, French, Arabic, and Somali
• Flyer on AVRR from Malta, containing information in English, French, Arabic, Somali, and Amharic
• Booklet ‘Stories of Return’, available in English, French, and Arabic
• Poster, available in English, French, Arabic, Somali and Ahmaric
• Flyer on AVRR for Unaccompanied Migrant Children in Malta, available in English, French, Arabic, Somali and Amharic

For AVRR referrals, please fill in this form and share it with the email addresses included.