Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration Programmes

IOM Kosovo through AVRR Programmes aims to promote sustainable voluntary return and reintegration of Kosovars, returning from different Western European countries through measures to improve economic prospects for both the returnees and members of the receiving communities, thereby enhancing the capacity of return communities to continue to attract, absorb and retain returning migrants and other displaced people and to prevent further out-migration.    

Since 1999 IOM Kosovo in coordination with different governments has developed several AVR Programmes for Kosovar returnees giving a special attention to vulnerable individuals and groups. This is done by providing pre-departure counselling, transportation, reception and onward transportation to their final destinations and medical assistance in accordance with their needs. Included in this category are: the elderly, the handicapped, unaccompanied minors, single woman travelling with children, sick persons and AVR returnees.

Through Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) IOM Kosovo has successfully assisted more than 200,000 returnees since 1999. In 2017, 1,818 persons have returned through one of the several AVR Programmes currently in place, the biggest share of them coming from Germany (81%).

If you want to find out more about our work during the year 2017, please click here