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Repository of Practices

Government Program of Primary Assistance for Reintegration of Nationals Returning to the Republic of Armenia (including Compulsory Returnees)

Primary GCM Objectives

Secondary GCM Objectives

    16

GCM Guiding Principles*

*All practices are to uphold the ten guiding principles of the GCM. This practice particularly exemplifies these listed principles.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Dates

2020 - Present

Type of practice

Project/Programme

Geographic scope

Country:

Regions:

Sub Regions:

Summary

The purpose of the Government program of primary assistance for reintegration of nationals returning to the Republic of Armenia is to provide primary assistance to the Republic of Armenia nationals returning (including involuntary) to Armenia to ensure their future full and sustainable reintegration. The program has two components:

• Provision of information support and needs based referral;

• Provision of temporary rental subsidy.

Migrants returning to Armenia face several reintegration challenges such as awareness, employment, housing, socioeconomic, psychological, educational, cultural and other issues. The first component on information and referral support envisages number of measures, including:

• Information on the legal framework, lists of health-care providers, social assistance frameworks, the pension system, information on compulsory military service, customs exceptions, documentation challenges (passports, dual citizenship);

• Referrals relating to health-care problems;

• Referrals of vulnerable groups such as unaccompanied minors and those with disabilities.

The second component of the program envisages a subsidy for an apartment rent. The subsidy in the amount of 60,000 AMD (120$) is for a 6-month period. The beneficiaries of the second component are the Armenian returning nationals who have lived in another country for at least one year and applied to the Program within three months after the return, including:

• Returnees under the readmission agreements;

• Armenian nationals deported or expelled from a foreign country.

• Voluntary returnees of multi-child families (with 4 or more children); • Voluntary returnees with disabilities.

Children, along with women, the elderly, persons with disabilities and families, are identified as targets of specific measures. The Programm identifies the needs for gender and age-sensitive methods to assess needs. Issues of accommodating adults with disabilities and elderly (age of 65 and above) in relevant care centers are addressed in the Programm.

Organizations

Main Implementing Organization(s)

Government of Armenia

Detailed Information

Migration Service of the Republic of Armenia

Partner/Donor Organizations

Ministry of Health
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs
Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport

Benefit and Impact

Despite the existence of a number of programs to encourage the return implemented by the international and local organizations, the state support program for returnees has not been implemented so far. Besides, the reintegration assistance programs in Armenia target mostly voluntary returnees, and the compulsory returnees are mainly excluded from any assistance. Therefore, the said Government Program was developed to fill this gap and provide reintegration support also to forced returnees. Return policies, including especially the Government Program, are developed on the basis of the vulnerability of beneficiaries, rather than their migration experience.

Since program launch, citizens lodged numerous applications for the house rent subsidy, and during 19 March 2020 until 31 December 2021, 38 families (88 persons) benefited from the Program. They are Armenian nationals returned from Sweden, France, Russia, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Turkey.

Besides, since the summer of 2021, a full-time psychologist has been working in assisting of returnees. The main tasks of the psychologist are: psychological support and/or psychotherapy to returnees, network building (mapping) of mental health care services in Armenia, and providing support, training and intervention sessions to the counsellors and case workers at the desk. Psychologist consults with the beneficiary in the case he/she requests a psychological support after the counsellor’s proposition. Most of the beneficiaries requesting a psychological consultation are forced returnees with post-traumatic symptoms and high anxiety level. If the regular psychological sessions are not possible for the beneficiary, the psychologist tries to find a mental health specialist located near to the beneficiaries’ location. The psychologist has met more than dozen beneficiaries needing psychological support.

Key Lessons

Given the pandemic in Armenia and around the world, including the restrictions of movement, the implementation experience of the program illustrated rather high demand for the program, including among citizens that returned voluntarily. Considering that the COVID-related movement restrictions continued, it became necessary to amend the Government Decree to make the second component of program assistance available also to the Armenian nationals that returned voluntarily provided they belong to least one of the following vulnerable groups:
1) Families with four or more children; and
3) Persons with disabilities.

Recommendations(if the practice is to be replicated)

With the government assistance, the returnees are able to resettle and begin a new life in the homeland. This is an important incentive to effectively organize the return and reintegration process and increase the influx of returnees.

Innovation

This practice is innovative because it offers to the Armenian citizens returning home (including the forced returnees) to get reintegration support in the framework of the Government Program.

Media

Հարկադիր Հայաստան վերադարձող քաղաքացիները կստանան փոխհատուցում

Date submitted:

31 March 2022

Disclaimer: The content of this practice reflects the views of the implementers and does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations, the United Nations Network on Migration, and its members.

 

 

*References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).