From Social Instrument to Migration Management Tool: Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes – The Case of Belgium

Abstract

The return of migrants to their country of origin and the development of efficient return measures have become more prominent on the political agenda of many Western European countries. Since policymakers prefer ‘voluntary’ return, governmental programmes to support the return of migrants – Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) programmes – were developed as far back as the 1970s and have played an increasingly important role in migration policy over the last three decades. At the same time, general migration policy and welfare systems have undergone profound change, including in the meanings and connotations attached to social welfare, return support and return policy. This raises questions about the implications of these broader societal and policy changes for the widely implemented AVR programmes. In this article, we discuss the interpretation and evolution of AVR programmes by analyzing how one particular European country, Belgium, has developed its AVR programme over time. We explore the evolution of the programme's content, target group and institutional positioning, which shed light on its changing goals and are closely linked to a broader shift towards a ‘managerial’ approach to migration policy and the welfare state. We argue that return support may become decontextualized when it adopts ‘conditional entitlement’ as a central principle. This leads to strong differentiation, based on personal responsibility, between ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ migrants, the levelling down of the support given to returnees, and a more coercive voluntary return policy in which social support is linked to deportation.

Talking across Borders: Successful Re‐entry in Different Strands of Re‐entry Literature

“…Adjustment is linked to several outcomes that are of relevance for organizations, while it is also valued on its own. In addition, repatriates’ self‐concept or more specifically their cultural or international identity and sense of belonging is increasingly recognized as being an important factor associated with their adjustment (Lietaert, ; Chiang et al., ) Accordingly, literature on repatriates takes into account that international mobility can result in profound personal transformations, which might consequently influence psychological comfort on re‐entry.…”

Transnational knowledge in social work programs: Challenges and strategies within assisted voluntary return and reintegration support

“…Besides the inherent difficulty of the theme of return migration, for the Belgian social workers this struggle mainly related to the element of working with migrants without legal citizenship, the limited choices they have, and the elements of force within return decisions arising from the migration management goals linked to the AVRR program (Lietaert et al, 2016b). Research already indicated that social workers are often caught between the requirements and eligibility criteria for social support related to a client's residence status and professional ethics that require support to be given to people in need, needs that are often caused by a lack of residence documents and/or (full) citizenship (Cuadra & Staaf, 2014).…”

“…This paper studies the implementation of AVRR support in Belgium. In this context, the AVRR program is strongly institutionalized, and many social workers are involved in its implementation (Lietaert, Broekaert, & Derluyn, 2016b). Therefore, the Belgian AVRR program presents one of the sole forms of institutionalized transnational social work.…”

“…The content of the support gradually expanded over the years and nowadays consists of two layers of support (Lietaert et al, 2016b). First, "travel support," outsourced to IOM, enables the physical return of migrants.…”

“…Moreover it has to be noted that not all migrants who return within the Belgian voluntary return program receive additional reintegration support. An increasing number of migrants only receives travel support (Lietaert et al, 2016b). For these returnees, the support chain ends upon arrival in the country of origin.…”