From 2015 up until 2018, there have been more than 35,000 returnees in Kosovo. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, has also drafted the National Strategy for the Reintegration of Repatriated Persons, in order to enable a sustainable reintegration for them.

Democracy for Development Institute (D4D), as part of the “Labour Force Mobility and Returnee Opportunities” has organized information sessions in the municipalities of Drenas, Lipjan, Skenderaj, Ferizaj, Prizren, Gjilan, Mitrovica and Fushë Kosovë during November 2018 and January 2019. Through these sessions, D4D has enabled a discussion, and to a degree a needs-assessment, between the relevant actors, in most cases municipal officials, and returnees. This discussion has provided for an assessment for the process from both parties, and in addition has also made it possible for returnees to access information about the schemes and the ways to benefit from them.

The returnees still face problems in their effective reintegration. Municipalities specify the lack of adequate resources to address the problems that arise in reintegration as a critical issue, whereas the returnees point out that a number of schemes are not reaching their desired effect. One of the problems that was constantly highlighted during these information sessions was the low levels of access to information on what they can benefit from. This is mostly noticed when changes occur in the criteria and in the procedures of applying for different schemes. As soon as a certain criterion changes, the methods of information are emphasized to be deficient and therefore a large number of returnees begin to lose confidence in the process.

Generally, throughout the information sessions, it was highlighted that there needs to be an increased and advanced cooperation between the actors in this field, modify the methods of information sharing, and advancing decentralization hand-in-hand with resources.