URA Albania , Date: 2024.01.04, format: Article, area: Return

The reintegration project "URA Albania", financed by the state and the federal states, supports returnees immediately after their arrival in Albania and offers personal support and a wide range of assistance in the often uncertain initial phase.

The project is financed by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) and eleven federal states and implemented by the German Society for International Cooperation (Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ) GmbH for sustainable reintegration practices in respect of those returning to the country.

The project focuses in particular on the often very demanding initial phase immediately after arrival in Albania. It helps those returning to settle in more easily and to generate individual prospects for a new beginning. To this end, the bridge component offers personal support based on trust as well as various counselling services and benefits in kind.

Support services

The support is based on the individual needs of the returnees and can include the following services:

• Reception and needs-based initial orientation at the airport
• Social counselling
• Psychological care

• Emergency aid in kind:

  • Bridging allowance
  • Subsidy for transport costs
  • Medical grant
  • Rent subsidy
  • Set-up and renovation allowance

• Special funding for particularly vulnerable people:

  • Psychological support especially for children
  • Language courses for children
  • Tutoring for children
  • Basic equipment for school children
  • Financing of club memberships and leisure activities for children
  • Assumption of childcare costs for mothers and single parents

With regard to employment support and medium-term reintegration measures, the bridge component cooperates closely with GIZ's DIMAK counselling centre in Albania, which is also supported by the German government.

Eligibility criteria

In addition, the following criteria apply for financial support:

• Minimum stay of three months in Germany: People who are interested in funding through the bridge component must have stayed in Germany for at least three consecutive months immediately before their return.

• Registration deadline:

  • interested persons can either submit a registration via the BAMF at least five days before leaving Germany
  • or apply for assistance in person at the bridge component office within eight weeks of their return to Albania.

In order to optimally prepare for your return, it is recommended that you register before leaving the country.

Please note that Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and Thuringia only support people who have returned voluntarily.

Procedure and registration

A pre-registration is used to announce a voluntary return without obligation in the bridge component, to accelerate the processes in the project and to facilitate tailor-made support for the returnees.

The registration form (see downloads) is submitted via a local or state authority or a return counselling centre. In order to avoid queries and to speed up processing, the registration form should be completed in full and signed by the person interested in returning. The registration form should then be scanned in and sent to the BAMF to the following function mailbox: Brueckenkomponente@bamf.bund.de

Please note that registration is not automatically linked to the granting of benefits in the bridge component. Only in the context of a consultation on site in the bridge component will a decision be made about the eligibility, the type and scope of any funding.

As part of a personal consultation, the onsite social counsellors identify the individual needs of the returnees and work with them to develop a tailor-made roadmap for reintegration in Albania, which is tailored to the respective needs. The reintegration plan can include various counselling and support services, whereby the funding amount is capped:

• Voluntary returnees: up to EUR 600 per person/ up to EUR 3,000 per family
• Repatriated persons: up to EUR 550 per person/ up to EUR 2,750 per family

There is no legal entitlement to any assistance.

Contact details

You can find information about "Bridging Component Albania", as part of return advisory services, or by calling the Federal Office's returnees' hotline.