New EMN Inform “Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Voluntary and Forced Return Procedures and Policy Responses”

On Wednesday, 20 January 2021, a webinar was held by the EMN and the OECD to present a new inform on the impact of COVID-19 on return procedures.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the return process has been significant in EU and OECD countries. In most cases, the return process plummeted during the early months of the pandemic, while voluntary return continued despite difficulties. Some states have also seen an increase in requests for voluntary return. Also, the pandemic had an impact on the operational aspects of the return process in the form of identifying third-country nationals due to the difficulties of the delivery of identity documents. Return operations have resumed in many cases, but by September 2020, were not yet back to normal pre-pandemic levels.

New inform can be found here.
 

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