Remigration: Czech Republic to Pay Non-EU Migrants to Go Home

The Czech Republic is launching a programme to pay non-EU migrants to go home, noting that funding the scheme would cost taxpayers “far less” than if migrant groups remained in the country.

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With a particular focus on migrants from Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Russia, and Vietnam, the programme will offer foreign nationals up to 4,000 euros’ financial assistance towards transportation costs, setting up accommodation in their homelands, and purchasing livestock.

“The project should focus on all categories of foreigners, whether they are in the Czech Republic in an illegal situation or an asylum seeker,” Interior Ministry spokesman Hana Malá told Tiscali.cz.

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Pointing to a recent deportation from Germany which set taxpayers back 80,000 euros to fly just three migrants back to west Africa, Tiscali.cz described the Návraty scheme as a “cheap solution”, with the Interior Ministry noting that the costs work out less than providing illegal immigrants and asylum seekers with public services such as healthcare.

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Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has said Europe must “send a clear signal that illegal migration has ended” by turning migrant boats back and deporting bogus asylum seekers, arguing that the European Commission’s preferred solution — creating a permanent mechanism to share newcomers across EU states — was the “road to hell”, and would only exacerbate the problem.

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