In the framework of the project RESTART III* the Federal Ministry of the Interior commissioned the IOM Country Office for Austria with the coordination of the study "Motives and Grounds for Decision-making in favour or against Voluntary Return to the Country of Origin" (in German only). The authors Barbara Angleitner, Hermann Kuschej and Raphael Gottweis of the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS) spoke to potential returnees and return counsellors from the Federal Agency for Reception and Support Services (BBU) GmbH in the course of 2022 in order to examine this topic from different perspectives. The study results were analyzed in the context of the national and EU return strategies as well as the existing support mechanisms for voluntary returnees. This resulted in recommendations for action, which - considering the needs of the target group - serve the further refinement of the Austrian return system.

* This project was co-financed by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) of the European Union and the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior.