Eligibility Criteria

Beneficiaries

The beneficiaries of the IOM Development Fund are comprised of developing Member States and Member States with economies in transition. Eligibility is based on the most recent version of the list of low to upper middle-income economies as designated by the World Bank. Countries that would otherwise be eligible because they are on the World Bank list will be excluded upon joining the European Union. Voluntary withdrawal from eligibility remains open to any eligible country.

Eligibility for funding lines 1 and 2 is as follows:

• For Line 1: all eligible Member States may apply for funding and/or benefit from funded projects.
• For Line 2: all eligible Member States not subject to Article 4 of the IOM Constitution may apply for funding and/or benefit from funded projects.

In the context of regional projects, non-IOM Member States are included among the beneficiaries only where a majority of the beneficiaries are eligible Member States. Non-IOM Members are ineligible to apply directly for support from the Fund.

Eligible and Ineligible Projects

Priority is given to capacity-building projects in the various IOM areas of activity, including research and feasibility studies related to such activities. Both national and regional projects are eligible for funding. Projects with strong prospects for future funding and projects that provide co-funding or bridging funds are supported.

The types of activities not eligible for consideration by the IOM Development Fund include the following:

• Movements: activities that are overseen by IOM's Resettlement and Movement Management Division, including IOM’s traditional refugee and migrant transport and resettlement programmes.
• Emergency: activities that are overseen by IOM's Department of Operations and  Emergencies; for example, activities in immediate response to disasters.
• Major conferences and similar events that are continuations of ongoing dialogues and similar, well-established activities. However, conferences and similar events that may be useful in launching new regional processes, opening new geographic coverage or increasing programme planning and implementation between IOM and Member States are not excluded. 
• Projects mainly supporting IOM staff and office costs, including projects proposed for the specific purpose of opening an IOM office, are excluded. IOM staff and office costs may, however, be included in the budget for project implementation according to standard IOM project development guidelines, to a limit of 30% of the total project budget.
• Return and Re-integration projects, unless they include significant elements of government capacity development alongside the return or reintegration component.

Funding Levels

The following maximum funding levels apply:

• Line 1: USD 100,000 for national projects and USD 100,000 for regional projects. Exceptional increases at the regional project level will continue to be considered up to USD 200,000;
• Line 2: USD 300,000 for national projects and USD 400,000 for regional projects. Funding requests beyond these limits will not be considered.