WHAT WE DO
Return assistance
Whether returning to the country of origin or being transferred to the European country responsible for the asylum application, ISS offers individual support to facilitate the reintegration
Individual support before, during and after the return. Photo:
of people who live in Switzerland without a permanent residence permit and wish to return voluntarily to their country of origin. We advise them before departure as they explore professional prospects and training opportunities, support and coach them on site after their return, and provide an appropriate financial contribution to their project. All our projects are evaluated and monitored; we invest in people, not structures.
ISS Switzerland supports people who are to be transferred to another European country under the regulations of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. Since June 2026, this pact has replaced the Dublin III Regulation and applies to both asylum seekers and beneficiaries of international protection.
Reintegration in the country of origin
Since 2004, ISS Switzerland has supported vulnerable migrants who live in Switzerland without permanent status and wish to return voluntarily to their country of origin. We advise them before departure, help them build a professional or training project, and then provide follow-up on site through our local network present in more than 120 countries.
Website Reintegration
RESTART
Launched in October 2018, the RESTART mandate links ISS and a cantonal department. It is aimed exclusively at detainees who must leave Switzerland at the end of their detention. To date, RESTART mandates apply to the cantons of Geneva, Vaud, Bern and Basel-Stadt. Under these mandates, ISS Switzerland meets potential beneficiaries in prison, builds a relationship of trust and works with them on a concrete reintegration project for a dignified and sustainable return, then provides follow-up on site through our local network present in more than 120 countries.
991
projects since 2004
1704
beneficiaries
DUBLINO
Several thousand people are transferred every year from one European State to another under a rigid readmission procedure. Preparation and social support are often neglected, and continuity of care is not guaranteed in the destination country.
Since 2015, ISS Switzerland has worked with the Canton of Vaud so that the people concerned can access the competent services once they arrive. We provide them with the information and guidance they need before, during and after their transfer.
450
people have received reliable information since the project began
100
returns of people followed and supported by ISS Switzerland since the project began
Khiara, undocumented in Switzerland, now a nurse in Chile
Khiara was not yet 9 when she arrived in Switzerland. Her mother had stayed in Chile with her little brother, and she lived in Geneva with her grandmother, Ana, who worked as a domestic worker. But neither of them had legal status in Switzerland, and her grandmother could no longer afford to stay. Four years after Khiara arrived, Ana enrolled in the cantonal return assistance programme.
Ana received financial assistance to set up as a home-based seamstress in Chile, but young Khiara, aged 13, also had to secure her future in Chile after four years of schooling in Switzerland. This is where the reintegration in the country of origin programme came in, covering her tuition fees at a semi-private school near Santiago. The financial assistance also enabled her to take French lessons so as not to lose what she had learned during her stay in Switzerland.
For 10 years, we have followed Khiara’s progress and the key milestones on her journey, contributing to her tuition fees from time to time as needed.
In September 2023, Khiara qualified as a nursing technician in Santiago and, since January 2024, she has also been training in kinesiology. We congratulate her on these achievements and wish her every success in her future career!
Thanks to the Geneva Red Cross and the Geneva cantonal service for the authorisation and supervision of placements for their valuable cooperation.
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