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International Organization for Migration - Activities - Technical Cooperation on Migration and Capacity Building - DIRA

Assistance to the Government of the Russian Federation in the Establishing Legal and Administrative Framework for the Implementation and Development of Readmission Agreements

The Programme is implemented in close cooperation with the Federal Migration Service (FMS of Russia).

The Programme is funded by the European Commission and the Governments of Germany and Finland.

The Programme aims at rendering practical and technical assistance in specific issues related to the European Union - Russian Federation Readmission Agreement, effective since June 1, 2007, and serving a platform for the expertise and knowledge interchange between the EU and Russia in the field of migrants’ readmission and return.

The main advantage of the joint IOM-FMS of Russia programme is exactly its ability to organize subject-specific events, responding promptly to emerging challenges which call for quick solution, and drawing on the expertise of those European Union experts who are the most knowledgeable in specific issues of the return and readmission process.

The results of the Programme include the following:

In the field of building the capacity of the Russian migration authorities for reception and protection of forced returnees in the framework of readmission:

• Assistance was provided with drafting of the Federal Law on Amending the ‘Federal Law on the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens’ and the ‘Federal Law on the Procedure of Exit from and Entry into the Russian Federation’;

• The FMS partners were acquainted with a specially prepared overview and analysis of the existing generally accepted practices and international standards concerning the accommodation and reception of third-country nationals with an irregular legal status who are transferred to the RF under a readmission procedure and have to be further returned to their country of origin;

• The implementation of the Programme brings to the forefront the issue of necessary harmonization of different forms of forced return from the territory of the Russian Federation (readmission, administrative expulsion, deportation), as well as the establishment and promotion of alternative forms of return to the country of origin, primarily voluntary return, which is considered a preferred form of return, both for the migrant and the state;

• IOM colleagues in Moscow, Geneva, Vienna, Baku prepared a special report – “Brief Overview on Legislation and Law Enforcement Practices of Certain Foreign States in the Field of Migration Flows’ Management and Immigration Control”;

• Five IML training courses for FMS senior and mid-level officials were held to raise the awareness on readmission in the regions on International Migration Law and readmission agreements and their legislative basis;

• A Two-Volume Readmission Manual and an Electronic Training Module were developed;

• During study-tours to the Netherlands, Germany and Austria IOM acquainted the Russian authorities with other countries’ practical experiences of readmission agreements implementation;

• Snapshot Study on the Profiles of Irregular Russian Migrants in the EU and Challenges for their Reintegration upon Return to the Russian Federation was carried out;

In the field of development of model mechanisms for return and readmission:

• Technical seminars in which European experts took part were particularly successful in revealing such key areas where cooperation is needed and paved the road for further discussions at bilateral and multilateral levels;

• Expert support is provided to the Pskov Readmission Centre as well as refurbishment of Don Migrant Accommodation Centre has been done;

In the field of ongoing dialogue with European and third countries on issues of return and readmission:

• Direct technical-level contacts are established between migration officers involved in implementing the EU-RF Readmission Agreement;

• A lot of effort is given to improving the algorithm of readmission procedure implementation, starting from the point of a readmission application submission;

• Assistance in the strengthening of dialogue and regional cooperation on readmission was provided. The participants of the Regional Technical Consultations had the occasion to meet their counterparts in person which, in line with the objectives of the technical meeting, further contributed to the establishment of contacts among the EECA.

More detailed information on the Programme