The IOM project Developing Assisted Voluntary Return in Finland is funded by the European Return Fund and the Finnish Immigration Service. This means that also the rules of the Return Fund and the decisions of the Finnish Immigration Service decide who is eligible.

Below are lists of eligible and ineligible persons. However, please note that the eligibility of a person is always based on an individual application. Eligibility rules may change, so you are encouraged to check with IOM if a person is eligible, even if you think that s/he is not.

Persons that are eligible

• Asylum seekers withdrawing their asylum process
• Rejected asylum seekers
• Asylum seekers with a Dublin hit who decide to cancel their process in Finland and return to the country of origin
• Persons with a valid residence status for protection reasons
• Victims of Trafficking
• Certain groups of persons with expired residence status (contact IOM for more information on eligibility)
   

Persons that are not eligible

• EU citizens
• Finnish citizens

Persons that do not want to return voluntarily are also not eligible for support. If a person does not cooperate on the return arrangements, IOM may consider that the person is not returning voluntarily and reject the application.