International deve­lop­ment cooperation

VCT Project, Visa Code Training Project, is a project led by Sweden in partnership with Czech Republic, Germany, Poland and Spain. The project aims at developing a training on the EU Visa Code and Schengen Border Code to increase harmonisation of the visa processing for the whole of the EU. The training developed by the project will also be a cost-effective support for Member States. The project is financed by the EU's Internal Security Fund (ISF) through the Border Management and Visa Instrument (BMVI).

The project is expected to start in September 2022 and continue until December 2023.

MAVRRI project, Multiparty Approaches to Voluntary Return and Reintegration Information. This was a project led by the Swedish Migration Agency with the overall goal to increase prior knowledge on the support of voluntary return. Another purpose with the project was to increase involvement and collaboration between relevant external actors working with Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR). This presupposes an established common understanding of the importance of AVRR and of identified information gaps. The Swedish Migration Agency cooperated with the Nordic countries Norway and Finland as well as the civil society organisations such as Swedish Red Cross, City Mission, Church of Sweden and Amnesty International. The Dutch Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) under the European Return and Reintegration Network (ERRIN) programme funded the project, which ran from 1 July 2021 to 15 June 2022.

Between October 2019 and October 2021, the Swedish Migration Agency is the leading partner in a Twinning project together with the Netherlands and Slovenia. The project is a continuation of a previous Twinning project in Serbia and will, in addition to developing legislation on asylum and legal migration, support Serbia in developing the opportunities to absorb fund financing and developing the cooperation with the EU.

The project is financed by the EU and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sida.

From March 2020, the Swedish Migration Agency is running a project in Serbia to support the country in its preparations to participate, in the event of an EU membership, in the EURODAC and EUROSUR systems. The project will last for two years.

The project is financed by the EU and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sida.

The Swedish Migration Agency is, in association with a number of EU member states, exploring the possibilities for developing a training programme for staff working with receiving, registering and deciding on visa applications. Preliminary project start is in 2022.

In the autumn of 2021, the Swedish Migration Agency will conduct a feasibility study on strengthening the asylum and protection process in Turkey with a focus on gender-based violence. If the feasibility study leads to a project, it will start in 2022.

The European Return and Reintegration Network – Sustainable Reintegration in Afghanistan project (ERRIN-SRA) aimed to improve the long-term reintegration opportunities for Afghan citizens returning from Europe. In 2020, the project has created and implemented a new concept for help with starting small-scale businesses and carried out activities to change the attitude in society towards returnees. The project has spread information directly from the project's staff in Afghanistan to case officers at the Swedish Migration Agency and European migration agencies. The project was funded by the European Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and ran between November 2019 and June 2021.

EU-FRANK (Facilitating Resettlement and Refugee Admission through New Knowledge) was led by the Swedish Migration Agency together with the partner countries Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The EU Asylum Support Office EASO, the UNHCR, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) and the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) were also important associated partners in the project.

The project was mainly funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF Specific Actions).

The aim of the project was to enable more people to have access to protection in the EU in a safe and well-functioning way. The project aimed to increase the operational conditions of EU states to carry out resettlement.

The project ran over a period of five years and was finished 31 December 2020.

The Swedish Migration Agency and the Turkish Directorate-General of Migration Management (DGMM) have collaborated since 2014 with a view to improve outcomes in international protection and migration management.

In September 2017 a three-year project entitled “Promoting Turkish Compliance with International Obligations in the Protection of Refugees and Migrants” started. By using tools and methods developed by the Swedish Migration Agency, the project aimed at promoting an asylum examination process of high legal quality based on transparency, predictability and credibility. It also aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of asylum seekers with special needs.

The project was funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sida and was finished in December 2020.

The Swedish Migration Agency participated in the EURLO (European Union Return Liaison Officers) project which is led by the Belgian migration agency and funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF Specific Actions).

The project, which ran during 2015–2020, focused on improving the practical cooperation between the EU member states and countries outside of the EU in return matters through a network of return liaison officers posted in strategically important countries to improve the dialogue and support the practical return and reintegration work for people with decisions on expulsion.

The Swedish Migration Agency has, through the project, deployed EURLOs in Kabul and Rabat.

The project was implemented during the period 2016–February 2019. The project was led by the Netherlands in cooperation with Sweden, through the Migration Agency, and Austria.

The aim of the project was to support Kosovo’s EU approximation and the development of the migration and asylum management. Activities such as seminars, training and formulation of recommendations were carried out by experts from several EU member states.

The project was financed by the EU through the IPA funds and co-financed by Sida, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.

The Swedish Migration Agency participated in ERIN, a European cooperation programme aiming at promoting a sustainable return and reintegration of third country citizens whose applications for asylum were denied and who have no legal right to be in the EU member states.

The programme was led by the Netherlands from 1 June 2016 until 30 September 2018 when the programme was incorporated into the wider European Return and Reintegration Network (ERRIN).

The ERIN programme was financed by the AMIF.

The project was implemented from September 2015 until February 2018.

The project was led by Swedish Migration Agency in cooperation with the migration agencies in the Netherlands, Slovenia and Serbia. The objective of the project was to support the Serbian migration authorities' development of the asylum and migration policies as a part of the EU accession.

The project was financed by the EU through the IPA funds and co-financed by the Swedish International Development Agency.

The general support function for the Eastern Partnership Panel on Migration and Asylum was launched at the Swedish Migration Agency in 2012 as a follow-up on the previous Söder­kö­ping Process.

The function supported the European Commission and the participating countries in the planning and carrying out of panel meetings and expert meetings. The panel was primarily a forum for exchange of information and experience and promoted the development of partner countries in the area of migration and asylum.

The work was carried out in close cooperation with the IOM. The Swedish Migration Agency's work on the support function ended in August 2016.

The bilateral cooperation project with Turkey ran for 1.5 years and ended in March 2016.

The project aimed at strengthening the capacity of the Turkish migration authority to deal with migration and asylum issues in accordance with European standards. The Swedish Migration Agency provided technical assistance in migration analysis, management, voluntary return, third country cooperation and quality assurance.

The project was funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sida.

The Pilot project Quality in Decision-making in the Asylum Process – Continuous Training Using Content of Jurisprudence (PP7) was a follow-up on the pilot project PP4.

The project was led by the Swedish Migration Agency in cooperation with the German migration authority BAMF. The aim of the project was to strengthen the capacity of the participating countries in terms of quality in the asylum process and in particular decision-making.

The project was implemented from November 2014 until March 2016 and resulted in guidelines on training using the content of jurisprudence. For more information please visit www.pragueprocess.eu.
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