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  • Reintegration in the country of origin

Request for support
These requests are only for the programme "Reintegration in the country of origin" and must be submitted by the social worker in direct contact with the migrant.

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We encourage the reintegration of people living in Switzerland without a permanent residence permit who wish to return voluntarily to their country of origin. We offer perspectives in the countries of origin, a more humane and less costly solution than social aid in Switzerland.

Most people living in Switzerland without a permanent status are legally obliged to leave the country. This includes rejected asylum seekers and undocumented migrants. They have no prospects here and fear that after returning to their country of origin, they will end up in the same desperate situation that led to their migration in the first place. Those who meet the criteria established by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) based on the Asylum Act receive assistance to return. Many, however, go empty-handed. Here the programme Reintegration in the country of origin steps in with its long-term experience. In cooperation with ISS Switzerland, it enables people who wish to return to take their future into their own hands.

We advise them before their departure in their search for career and educational opportunities, accompany and coach them on site after their return and provide an adequate financial contribution to their project.

All our projects are monitored and evaluated. Successes and failures are published in our annual report. We invest in people, not structures.

Since 2018, ISS Switzerland has developed a collaboration with the Geneva Cantonal Detention Office and the Geneva Red Cross Return Assistance Service. The purpose of cooperation is to support people in detention in the Canton of Geneva who, at the end of their sentence, have to leave Switzerland and who show an interest in developing a reintegration project in their home country.


Reintegration in the country of origin (French version)


The story of Kaddy Sidibeh (3')

801
individual projects launched
1423
beneficiaries
75
different countries