VOLUNTARY HUMANITARIAN RETURN
for third-country nationals arriving to Hungary from Ukraine
If:
- You are a third-country national (citizens of non-EU and/or non-EEA countries, who are NOT Swiss or Ukrainian).
- You arrived to Hungary from Ukraine.
- You would like to return to your home country.
IOM can help you organizing your return travel and cover your associated costs, including:
- Providing pre-departure assistance to cover your needs until you travel.
- Assistance with obtaining travel documentation.
- Organizing your travel to your home country and purchasing your flight tickets.
- Providing departure, transit, and arrival assistance.
- Arranging onward transportation to your final destination within your home country (if needed).
IOM can assist beneficiaries, who wish to return to their countries of origin by organizing their voluntary return and covering their needs until departure.
IOM can take care of travel preparations ranging from arranging all necessary documents and obtaining tickets to helping migrants embark on the scheduled day of departure. Returnees usually travel on regular commercial flights, just like any other passenger, and can receive assistance while in transit or, whenever needed, operational or medical escorts. In case you need assistance with travelling to your hometown from the airport in your country of origin, our colleagues will arrange onward transportation for you.
Until departure, IOM can assist with providing accommodation, food, medical assistance, and other support.
We understand that each person’s situation and needs are different, therefore the nature and extent of pre-departure assistance is always decided on a case-by-case basis – so we can assist you the way it is best for you!
Please kindly note that within the framework of this programme IOM can only arrange your travel to your country of origin and is, unfortunately, unable to assist in organizing onward travel to any country that you are not a legal resident and/or citizen of. Also, IOM can only provide pre-departure assistance (including accommodation, food, etc.) to those beneficiaries who will return to their home countries with IOM’s support.
Factors that do NOT limit your participation in the program:
- If you do not possess any identification documents,
- If you need an escort/medical escort.
How can you apply?
1) If decided to voluntarily return to your home country with IOM’s assistance, you will be asked to fill out and sign an application form. Application forms can be obtained from IOM colleagues via e-mail. Please make sure you fill out all pages, provide all necessary data, and do not forget to sign it!
Please forward your completed application form to IOM Hungary’s e-mail: iombudapestops@iom.int
After receiving your application form, our colleagues will contact you about the next steps.
You can also fill out and submit your application form in person. Please look for our mobile teams at HU-UA border crossing points, registration points, and at the railway station Nyugati in Budapest, or make an appointment via our hotline or e-mail to meet our colleagues in our office in Budapest!
2) After receiving your application, IOM will forward it the Hungarian National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (NDGAP) for approval.
Meanwhile, IOM will contact you to ask a few more questions and discuss the next steps. In case you need any assistance during your stay in Hungary (such as accommodation, food, medical support), please do not forget to mention it to our colleagues, who will be happy to help.
IOM can also support the reintegration of a limited number of beneficiaries in their respective countries of origin. For more information, please see “Reintegration support”.
3) In case you do not have valid travel documents (ie. passport), IOM will reach out to your country’s representatives to acquire the necessary papers. Please remember that you remain responsible for the application including proving your nationality and identity.
4) After the Hungarian National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (NDGAP)’s approval has been received, IOM will discuss the date of departure with you and purchase your tickets. Our colleagues will also take care of organizing pre-departure medical-checks (fit-to-travel examination) and PCR-testing for you, in necessary.
5) On the day of your travel, IOM will organize your transport from your accommodation to the airport. Our colleagues will welcome you at the airport and support you throughout the check-in and security procedures – all the way until you are ready for boarding.
Before departure, IOM will provide you with a pre-departure cash allowance (50 EUR) to facilitate your onward transportation in the countries of origin.
In case you travel through a transit airport, IOM’s colleagues will await you at the transit airport and support you through the transit.
6) IOM can also arrange your transportation from the airport to your hometown in your country of origin. Please kindly let us know in case you need any assistance with this!
It is important that all costs, including pre-departure assistance, travel costs, and all associated costs are covered by IOM.
IOM will not charge you at any stage of this process.
We will do our very best to provide you with the earliest departure date possible, but please kindly note that depending on the number of applications the process might take from a few days to up to 2 weeks. Meanwhile, our colleagues will be happy to answer any questions or concerns you might have.
For more information and/or to apply, you can contact us via:
- Our hotline: +3680 205 018
Available on workdays:
in English: Monday-Friday 9:00-16:00
in Russian: Monday-Friday 9:00-15:00
in Hungarian: Monday-Friday 15:00-16:00
in Kyrgyz: Monday-Friday 9:00-15:00
- E-mail: iombudapestops@iom.int
- Or look for our mobile teams at HU-UA border crossing points, registration points, and at the railway station Nyugati in Budapest.
- Personal return and reintegration counselling sessions in English, Russian or Hungarian are available in IOM Hungary’s office in Budapest – please contact our colleagues via phone or e-mail to make an appointment.
Programme has reached the maximum capacity for applications, and is no longer accepting new submissions