Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programme (VARRP)

In June 2002, with co-financing from the European Refugee Fund, IOM London created a reintegration fund to provide financial support for people returning to India from the UK with IOM’s Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programme (VARRP).

This is an ongoing program and is carried out at the instance of IOM London which at its end offers assistance for asylum seekers who want to return permanently to their country of origin. The fund facilitates sustainable voluntary return by providing financial support for reintegration in the form of up to £ 1,000 per returnee to identify income-generating activities that will allow returnees to support themselves and their families.

The money is extended to fund activities including vocational training, other educational courses, assistance with finding a job or help with setting up a small business. It can also be used to pay the school fees of children returning with their parents.

To date with the assistance of IOM India, more than 70 returnees across the country have benefited from the scheme, using the funding to pursue professional courses and to learn new skills, or to establish small businesses. These include grocery shops, a eucalyptus oil manufacturing business, a web design company, a dairy business and a taxi business. Quite a number of these returnees have also used the money to pay for their children’s continuing education.

Case study

Mr. B is 35 years old, married, and now lives in Ameerpet, Hyderabad, with his wife and 10 year old daughter. Before leaving India, he completed a B.A. in Political Science and subsequently worked as a salesman earning approximately INR 6,000 each month. In search of better opportunities, He left for London in July 2001, where he found life turned out not to be as rosy as he had expected. He heard about the possibility of returning voluntarily with IOM when he saw a brochure. With the help of his lawyer, he applied for return and reintegration assistance. IOM London assisted him with the flight arrangements, travel documents and departure assistance and he landed in India in August 2003.

Once he had returned, IOM India helped him come up with a suitable business plan. Mr. B then purchased a pick-up van with a partial contribution from IOM and the balance as a loan from HDFC Bank. Mr. B explains the rest: He says, “When I landed in India, I neither had any source of income nor money to start up the business/ enterprise. But with the help of IOM India I got the confidence to go ahead with the present and keep away my painful past. I underwent vocational training to set up a shoe industry for six months and undertook surveys / discussions with the shoe dealers. However, I had to drop the idea as I felt it required a much higher investment and was not viable given my circumstances. Later with the help of IOM India I purchased a pick-up van and started the business of milk delivery. IOM India provided me with an assistance of INR 44,000 and with the help of IOM staff, I could take a loan from HDFC bank to the tune of INR 84,000. Now I am earning around INR 11,000-12,000 per month permitting me to save some money after meeting all expenses. I have not once defaulted with the repayment to the bank and now the loan balance is down to about INR 40,000. The business is slowly picking up. Although initially for first 3 months there was no profit, now it is running well and relatively sufficient for my sustenance. My wife is a school teacher and she earns Rs 3,000. I am relieved and there is no financial problem as such. I am very much satisfied with the business and want to grow it more and I have the confidence that it would happen. Now I am thinking of extending this enterprise i.e. I’m in the process of linking with whole sale dealers to supply the products apart from dairy products.”

Since then, Mr. B has successfully settled the entire loan taken from HDFC. Alongside the milk-delivery business, he also ventured into real estate deals. With the profits from these businesses, he has been able to graduate from the three-wheeler to a bigger DCM Toyota for the milk-delivery business and has also purchased a car for his private use. Life for this young gentleman definitely seems to be going on the right track….