Publications
FAQs on the “Your country. Your future. Now!” poster campaign
type: Frequently asked
What does the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community want to achieve with the “Your country. Your future. Now!” campaign?
There are currently more than 235,000 persons in Germany who are required to leave the country. They come from a wide range of countries of origin. The “Your country. Your future. Now!” campaign aims to raise awareness among this target group of the current opportunity to obtain support for reintegration in the form of a housing subsidy if they return voluntarily to their country of origin.
The campaign also aims to make persons who are required to leave the country aware of the possibility of voluntary return in general.
The posters additionally refer those interested to the comprehensive, multilingual information that is available on the website returningfromgermany.de.
Who is the poster campaign's target audience?
The campaign is aimed at all persons who are required to leave the country. It is intended to provide them with information on current possibilities for voluntary return and reintegration.
The campaign is not aimed at persons who are legal residents of Germany and is not questioning their lawful residence.
What languages are used for the poster campaign?
The poster has been printed in seven different languages: German, English, French, Arabic, Russian, Pashto and Farsi.
The languages chosen are intended to reflect the languages that are understood by people from the most important countries and regions of origin.
Why were the specific flags chosen that are shown on the posters?
The choice and arrangement of the flags on the posters are based on the number of persons who are required to leave the country from each of those countries.
Why is the Turkish flag on the poster?
The choice of flags is based on the nationality of the persons in Germany who are required to leave the country.
Where are the posters in the campaign displayed?
The posters are being used in around 80 cities throughout Germany. They are intended to provide information in a variety of languages on the opportunity of return assistance offered until December 31, 2018.
The poster has been printed in seven different languages: German, English, French, Arabic, Russian, Pashto and Farsi. The languages chosen are intended to reflect the most-spoken languages in the most common countries of origin. Different languages are used at different sites.
How many posters are being displayed for the “Your country. Your future. Now!” campaign?
The campaign uses large-scale posters and backlit advertising displays. Around 2,400 posters are on display throughout Germany.
Why was the “Your country. Your future. Now!” campaign relaunched instead of starting a new campaign?
The aim is to ensure a stronger focus on long-term reintegration in our future support for voluntary return. The relaunch of the “Your country. Your future. Now!” campaign is intended to incorporate an additional short-term housing subsidy into the first phase which all of the return counselling centres were already aware of.
Was there a similar poster campaign last year?
This is the first of these poster campaigns. The information was provided online last year.
What is the campaign budget?
The budget for the campaign is around €500,000.
What is the budget for providing counselling to potential returnees?
The lion’s share of return counselling services are provided by the individual federal states. With the establishment of the reception, decision-making and return centres (AnkER centres), there is a plan to also provide counselling services for potential returnees in these centres if the federal states ask for it. This will be funded by the Federal Government via the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees in Saxony will therefore launch a pilot project in January providing this type of advisory services in the reception, decision-making and return centre in Dresden. The exact cost to the Federal Government depends on how many federal states utilize this option.
Why is the number of people benefiting from the assistance falling?
The number of voluntary returns has indeed fallen in comparison with 2016, which was an exceptional year, but also with 2017. This is part of a broader development throughout Europe which affects the Western Balkan states above all. In the larger scheme of the last five years, the number of returnees is reverting to its prior level. The trend in the number of voluntary returnees generally depends on a range of different factors.
How many refugees have benefited from return assistance to date, and how much money has been spent on it?
Between 2013 and 2017 (inclusive), a total of 142,867 people (2013: 10,251; 2014: 13,574; 2015: 35,514; 2016: 54,006; 2017: 29,522; up to Oct. 2018: 14,183) made the return journey to their country of origin or a third country with financial support from the Reintegration and Emigration Programme for Asylum-Seekers in Germany/Government Assisted Repatriation Programme (REAG/GARP). This represents a total cost of €78,454,955.13 for the Federal Government and the federal states over the five-year period, which represents average assistance per person of around €550.
The costs for 2018 will be determined in April 2019.
When will information on the exact number of applications resulting from the poster campaign be available?
A reliable report on the number of applications as a result of the latest poster campaign will not be available until January 2019.
Is there a time limit on the campaign?
The additional housing subsidy offered as part of the “Your country. Your future. Now!” is the only element of the campaign that ends on 31 December 2018. All other reintegration assistance and services for the promotion of voluntary return will be offered throughout 2019 as well, in the form of RAG/GARP and the StarthilfePlus programme.
Lots of foreigners living in Germany, including foreign skilled workers, feel that this campaign is directed at them, even if that was not the aim. What would you say to these skilled workers?
If individual foreign skilled workers who are working legally in Germany feel that the campaign is targeting them, this was not our intention. The poster campaign is aimed specifically at persons who are required to leave the country and persons with little prospect of being allowed to stay who feel that voluntary return to their country of origin may be an option for them as individuals. This is also immediately clear from a visit to the website advertised on the poster, www.ReturningfromGermany.de.
In view of the shortage of skilled labour, the Federal Government has also always emphasized the need for immigration by skilled workers. The Federal Government also uses information services such as www.make-it-in-germany.com to make it clear that it strongly supports legal migration of skilled workers, students and trainees.
Will there be similar campaigns when this one expires at the end of the year?
There may be.
Why did the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community decide to raise awareness of the option of voluntary return using a poster campaign rather than including the information in the counselling for returnees?
The website www.ReturningfromGermany.de provides additional information for both potential returnees and for counselling services. Given that currently around 235,000 persons in Germany are required to leave the country, it also makes sense to provide information in the public space on the opportunity of voluntary assisted returns and reintegration in the country of origin. The aim is to make persons with no prospect of being allowed to stay in Germany aware of the offer of support to return, especially if they have not used the counselling centres. The return counselling centres are aware of the options for support and they provide information on these where applicable. This information should not be limited to people who are already aware of and using return counselling centres.
Is the “Your country. Your future. Now!” campaign organized by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community, or by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees?
The Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community commissioned the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees to carry out the poster campaign.
Was the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees consulted on the design and content of the posters?
The Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community is responsible for the campaign, which was discussed with the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. The content and most of the layout of the poster are
the same as the poster that was used in the 2017 funding phase. No large-format posters were used in the public space in 2017, however.
Why was the previous “Your country. Your future. Now!” campaign discontinued in February 2018?
The first funding phase of the “Your country. Your future. Now!” programme was intended to provide a new element of support, a housing subsidy, for long-term reintegration following voluntary return. The aim was to garner experience of an additional time-limited incentive for voluntary return, and to look at whether such an option was effective in the long term. The campaign was therefore always intended to run for a limited time.
What can the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community learn from the current criticism of the poster campaign and apply to future projects?
The aim of the poster campaign is to provide people with no prospect of being allowed to stay in Germany with information on the possibility of voluntary return and reintegration, and on the existing support programmes. The main problem is that communication on a poster is highly condensed, which means that different people can interpret it in different ways. We will take note of the feedback that we have received and take it into account where necessary.