Ideas for Business Development: A Handbook on Income Generating Reintegration Activities

In recent years, there has been an increase in human mobility worldwide due to drivers such as the search for better opportunities abroad, natural and human-caused crises, environmental degradation and the increased circulation of information because of better technology. Higher flows of migration have also been accompanied by higher volumes of migrants returning to their countries of origin. Return is often followed by a process of re-inclusion or re-incorporation of migrants into their society. This process is usually referred to as “reintegration”.

One dimension of the reintegration process is the economic reintegration, which covers the aspects that contribute to re-entering the economic life and sustained livelihoods. Based on the reintegration assistance provided by IOM Switzerland, through its “Reintegration Assistance from Switzerland (RAS)” project, recommendations and best practices in the establishment of income generating reintegration activities from 15 countries have been collected in this handbook. It aims to provide migrants and return counsellors with practical advice and tailored information, including on the situation and legal requirements within each country of return that can be used to inform and shape the reintegration process.