Attachments
BACKGROUND
In April 2017, the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia launched a campaign titled ‘A Nation without Violations’, granting all irregular migrants an amnesty period of 90 days to leave the country without facing penalties. An estimated 500,000 migrants were present in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia when the campaign was launched in March. After multiple extensions, the amnesty period ended in November 2017. Returnees arrive at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, where they are registered by IOM staff before continuing on to their destination. IOM also provides travel support to the most vulnerable migrants. Since May 2017, IOM has electronically registered 345,741 returnees, of whom 36,632 returnees were registered in 2020. This represents an almost 70% decrease compared to the number of returnees in 2019 (120,825). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, returns were temporarily halted on 22 March, and resumed on 3-13 April, 2-8 June and from September to December 2020.