Reintegration support for voluntary return

The amount of NOK 10,000 is offered to people who return voluntarily to their home country. It is intended to make life easier in the initial period after returning.

The Ministry of Justice and the Police has decided to continue the extended reintegration support scheme for people who choose to return voluntarily. The programme was initially intended to last until the end of 2009, but it is now being extended until the end of 2010 to start with. The reason is that, so far, the programme has produced positive results and contributed to increased interest in voluntary return.

The reintegration support of NOK 10,000 is offered to most people who return voluntarily to their home countries, and is intended to make life easier in the initial period after returning.

More applications for voluntary return

’We are pleased that the Ministry has decided to continue the reintegration support scheme for people who return voluntarily,’ says Anne Siri Rustad, Head of Department in the Directorate of Immigration (UDI).

’It is still too early to say anything about the impact of the scheme. Since it was introduced on September 1 last year, however, we have seen a 44 percent increase in the number of applications for voluntary return compared with the same period in 2008,’ she says.

Re-establishment support The reintegration grant is intended to make it easier for those who do not have a residence permit in Norway to return voluntarily by giving them financial support to re-establish themselves in their home country.

Source: Norwegian Directorate of Immigration