Assisted return programmes across Europe – Mapping an increasingly obscure landscape
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9953232 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lukas M Fuchs (0000-0002-6180-1376, Department Migration German Centre for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM) Berlin Germany, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 63 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication date | 2025-05-07 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Migration (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-7985 • E-ISSN: 1468-2435 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/imig.70032 |
| OpenAlex | W4410417862 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 30 |
Amidst an increasing popularity of Assisted Return (AR) programmes amongst European states, on the one hand, and criticism pertaining to their voluntary and humanitarian nature, on the other hand, this paper maps AR programmes across Europe. It contains a first comprehensive overview of 45 ongoing AR programmes across 27 countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) and outlines their commonalities and specificities along five categories: (1) clarity and reliability of available information, (2) involved actors, (3) targeting, (4) offered support and (5) accountability and empirical knowledge production. The mapping finds relevant differences in programme design according to the centralization and distribution of responsibilities between state actors, IOM and NGOs. Similarly, programmes vary according to their target groups ranging from highly specific (e.g. for victims of trafficking) to those addressing virtually all non‐EU citizens. Another marked distinction concerns the labelling as either assisted return or return & reintegration programme, which may be in contrast to the amount, scope and timing of the offered support. The findings and identified knowledge gaps are discussed in relation to relevant literature to contextualize our understanding of the proliferation of AR activities and formulate recommendations for future research
Economic geography · Economics · Environmental planning · Environmental resource management · Geography · Political science · Regional science · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Social Policy and Reform Studies
Return and Reintegration Key Highlights 2022
Return Migration and Regional Economic Problems
Handbook of Return Migration
Rethinking Migration and Return in Southeastern Europe
Reintegration Strategies
Re-Balancing the Reintegration Process and the Potential of Mentoring for Returnees
Determinants of Enforced Return
What drives ‘soft deportation’? Understanding the rise in Assisted Voluntary Return among rejected asylum seekers in the Netherlands
Who reintegrates? The constituents of reintegration of displaced populations
Return to Afghanistan
At the Crossroads between Care and Control
The Usefulness of Reintegration Support
Talking about return. Governmental caseworkers' regulative, normative and cultural‐cognitive strategies during “return conversations” with irregularised migrants
Interrogating the Relationship between Remigration and Sustainable Return
Reintegrating After Return
How do Member States Return Unwanted Migrants? The Strategic (non‐)use of ‘Europe’ during the Migration Crisis
The Effectiveness of Immigration Policies
No place like home? The International Organization for Migration and the new political imaginary of deportation
Introduction
Between humanitarian assistance and migration management
The moral economy of voice within IOM's awareness-raising industry
Our aim is to assist migrants in making a well-informed decision
How voluntary are voluntary returns
Judgement and Ambivalence in Migration Work
Return Intentions of Bolivian Migrants During the Spanish Economic Crisis
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |