Starting this week, Colombian migrants returning to their country
in a highly vulnerable situation – with no family, work or
financial help – will receive assistance from the newly
created Welcome Home Referral and Opportunity Centre for Returnees,
located in the downtown area of the capital, Bogota.

The centre, which is also open to foreigners who have no
government representation or family to turn to in Bogota, will
facilitate the process for those who need psychosocial or legal
assistance; guidance on entering the job market; access to
educational and health services; and support to set up income
generating projects.

Welcome Home is an initiative of the Mayor of Bogotá, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and IOM, and aims to help the growing
number of Colombians that are returning to their country, many of
them due to the global economic crisis.

"The right type of welcome for the returning migrants will help
them transition into the job market, which also benefits the
country.  These migrants are returning with new skills and
knowledge; the returnees worked and studied overseas, sometimes for
many years," explains José Angel Oropeza, Chief of the IOM
Mission in Colombia.

The global economic downturn has been the main factor prompting
the return of Colombians, as the main destination countries for
Colombian migrants are now in recession and have adopted various
policies to encourage migrants to return to their country of
origin. 

Spain's voluntary return programme reports that between 29 April
and 3 June the number of migrants requesting return assistance rose
to 905, with an average of 181 new requests each week. 
Migrant receiving countries in Latin America account for 91 per
cent of the assistance provided to returning migrants. 
Ecuador has seen the highest number of returnees with 1,749;
followed by Colombia, with 771 (of 954 requests); Argentina, with
364; Peru, 334; Brazil, 215; Chile, 166 and Uruguay, 139.

A Spanish Government programme introduced in November 2008,
offers migrants from non-EU countries with bilateral social
security agreements with Spain who qualify for unemployment
insurance, lump sum payments to go home if they agree not to return
to Spain within a period of three years. It is estimated that some
100,000 persons are eligible to participate in the programme.

In the United States, due to the rise in unemployment and
lay-offs, an increased number of Colombian migrants are
contemplating returning to their country.  The Colombian
Consulate General in New York reported an increase in the number of
queries about returning to Colombia, as well as with the number of
applications for passports, which rose from 8,890 in 2005 to 14,820
in 2008.

According to Colombian Government figures, 3.3 million
Colombians are living outside the country; 35 per cent in the
United States and 23 per cent in Spain.

For more information, please contact:

Jorge Andrés Gallo

IOM Bogota

Tel. + 5715946410 Ext. 142

E-mail: "mailto:jgallo@iom.int">jgallo@iom.int