Return to Georgia

Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) is an indispensable part of a comprehensive approach to migration management. Within the framework of assisted return programmes  migrants are provided with administrative, logistical, and financial support. On top of this, some migrants receive in-kind reintegration assistance post-arrival.

Services provided by IOM Georgia include pre-departure information provision, virtual counseling, reception/organization of onward transportation all over Georgia (including ambulance on the tarmac, referrals to medical and social programmes (comprehensive mapping of available services country-wide), temporary accommodation, enhancement of living conditions, medical assistance, vocational training, job placement, income-generating activities.

This assistance for Georgian nationals is provided by IOM counselors at five Migrant Resource Centers throughout Georgia.

Since 2003, more than 25,000 Georgian nationals have returned to Georgia with IOM’s support from the most EU Member States and Switzerland and over 6,000 individuals were provided with reintegration assistance. The biggest sending countries nowadays are Greece, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, and Belgium. 

Please refer to the chart below:

 

                      

 

The most popular reintegration activity is income generating projects, where returnees initiate small businesses to provide subsistence for themselves and their families. The type of activity largely depends on the area of residence (urban v/s rural) and of course the experience and capacity of each individual returnee.

Vocational Training and Job Placement Support

IOM Georgia has been implementing vocational training and job placement support since 2015. Initially it was done only for returnees from Belgium as there was additional funding available from the donor, however since 2018 these components have been used by returnees from Greece, Finland and Ireland as well.  

This component envisages training needs assessment of the interested returnees, selection of a vocational training course related to their experience/interest and capacity, and then subsequent assistance in job placement. All this is done in close coordination with training providers and employers throughout Georgia.

As considerable part of the returnees are young people with some new work experience and skills gained abroad, they need assistance to enhance their foreign language or professional skills or acquire any other new skills through training, that can help them to get a job easier in Georgia. After return, they often face challenges with finding employment or relevant vocational training, which increases their vulnerability.  Accordingly, to enhance long-term reintegration opportunities for these migrants, IOM Georgia provides referrals to relevant vocational training, job search, job matching, and job placement primarily in the private but also in the public sector.  

In the framework of this component IOM Georgia:

• Strengthens partnership with training providers and employers countrywide (mapping and updating the list);
• Increases awareness of returned migrants on the benefits of vocational training and promotes job placement;
• Provides training in career development.

In 2017-2024 - 242 returnees have received job counseling and referral, 124 persons took vocational training and 80 started work.

Based on existing contacts and experience IOM Georgia provides job counseling assistance to returnees from other countries as well. Referrals are provided to every interested returnee even if there is no specific budget through reintegration programmes.

Migrant Women

Number of Georgian returned migrant women increases over the years as well as their share in total returns. The rise has been obvious since 2018. In 2022, for the first time, the migrant women outnumbered migrant men and their share continues to rise.

Up to 40% of returned women migrants are either widowed or divorced, single mothers, or separated which means they are breadwinners for their small households on top of other vulnerabilities and complicated migration stories. 

• Lack of Information on available services in Georgia; 
• Lack of competitive skills for labour market;
• Lack of income opportunities and adequate employment possibilities, especially for women with small children or children with disabilities; 
• Being main caretakers of sick or disabled family members; lack of reintegration opportunities & specialized care;
• Inaccessible/ Unaffordable medical treatment;

Although IOM Georgia does not have targeted programs for women only, their reintegration, referrals to relevant state programmes and their assistance in training and employment is a very big part of our work.
 

Virtual Counselling

Access to timely, unbiased, and reliable information is essential to ensure dignified voluntary return and sustainable reintegration, allowing migrants to make informed decisions and take ownership of the voluntary return process. Through virtual counselling (VC) sessions, migrants are being provided with direct access to information about available reintegration support in Georgia through trusted counsellors who speak their language and understand, relate to, and address their concerns. 

Virtual counseling component started with Germany in 2020 as an immediate pandemic response. 

From 2021 IOM Georgia started VC for Georgian migrants residing in Ireland and from 2023 for Georgian migrants residing Finland, Switzerland and the Netherlands. 

On top of these, IOM Georgia provides case-by-case VC to all Georgian nationals in need of pre-departure information provision in their mother tongue (irrespective of the host country), as well as vulnerable cases for better planning the necessary follow-up immediately upon return.

Since 2020, IOM Georgia has provided 714 virtual counselling sessions.