Czech Republic to pay migrants to leave the EU

Foreigners illegally residing in the Czech Republic will be able to earn up to 100,000 crowns by voluntarily leaving the country and promising not to return to the EU under a new initiative from the Czech Ministry of the Interior set to launch in April.

Called Návraty (Returns), the program has been arranged with the support of the European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and is intended to financially assist denied asylum seekers and others facing deportation from the Czech Republic in voluntary leaving the EU and returning to their homeland.

Citizens of Afghanistan, India, Iraq, Iran, Mongolia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Vietnam are expected to be among those to take advantage of the voluntary leave program.

The new AMIF-funded program hopes to encourage denied asylum seekers and others illegally residing in the Czech Republic to voluntarily leave at a fraction of the cost it might take to deport them, while providing them with financial assistance in relocating.

A total of 60 million crowns has been allocated under Návraty program, three-quarters of which will be funded by the EU.

Under the program, applicants can receive from €1500 to €4000 (40,000 – 100,000 crowns) of financial assistance each, depending on their relocation needs. The first applicants under the program are expected to be processed in the third quarter of 2019.