Yuliana and her children moved to Ireland in 2008 because Yuliana heard that she could find good work there. The family lived in Ireland for one year before Yuliana realized she would not be able to support them. She could not find a consistent job without a work permit, and her children did not have adequate access to health care. 

Yuliana missed her family and decided to return to them. She had heard about IOM from other Brazilian migrants. She made an appointment to apply for voluntary return. Yuliana also learned that she could apply for the IOM reintegration grant once in Brazil.

After returning, Yuliana and her children lived with family. She immediately applied for the grant and purchased a sewing machine, so that she could make clothes to sell in local markets. She does not earn enough to support the family yet, but she will be able to soon.

 
Valentina lived for five years in Ireland until she returned to Brazil in 2012. She went to Ireland with her sister-in-law to find work, and loved the country because she was able to find a job. She worked as a cleaner until she suddenly faced health problems. Because she could not work, she lost her apartment and began to live at the church she attended.

Valentina heard that IOM could provide her with return assistance, and she met with them to ask for more information. She received support for her travel, and was told she could apply for a reintegration grant. She was nervous about returning to Brazil, but knew that she could not support herself in Ireland.

Valentina was happy to be reunited with her family after she returned. “My family thought I was right. I was the first person in my family to live so far away. My family was very moved at my return.” She now lives on her sister’s land.

In 2007, Renata and Paolo moved to Ireland with their youngest daughter. It was a difficult decision because their two older daughters needed to remain in Brazil with relatives. For several years, Renata and Paolo were able to send money to their family, but by 2010, they could not support themselves. They wanted to reunite their family, so they went to IOM Ireland for assistance to return to Brazil.

At their appointment with IOM, Renata learned that they could also apply for a reintegration grant through the IOM Regional Office in Argentina. “I thought, ‘What would I like to do?’” She began planning her business before she left Ireland.

After their return, Renata said, “I had to adapt to everything, especially to my older daughters who were then 12 and 13 years old. The worst of emigrating was losing time with my daughters.” For Paolo, the most difficult thing was that he had returned to Brazil without having been paid by his employer. “Everything looked difficult then.”

To help support her family, Renata applied for the reintegration grant. “I received the Business Plan and contacted IOM in Buenos Aires to apply soon after.” Renata’s application was approved for her to begin a sewing business. With the fund, she purchased sewing machines and material so that she can make and sell clothes.

Remedios came to Ireland in 2005 with her husband and young daughters. They lived for nearly four years as undocumented migrants. Remedios and her husband found steady work during that time, but then the economy took a downturn. Neither of them were able to find work, and they worried about the economic future of their family.

Remedios learned from another friend that IOM could help them with voluntary return to Brazil. The friend said that IOM even offered a small grant to help start a business or go back to school. Remedios and her husband talked it over, and decided that it would be best for them to take their children back to Brazil permanently.  IOM assisted them in arranging their travel documents and purchasing plane tickets, as Remedios and her husband could not afford to pay for the entire family to travel.

Reinaldo left Brazil in 2008 to live and work in Ireland. Although he did not have a work permit, friends had told him that he would be able to find a job quickly. After six months, he was still unable to find steady employment. Reinaldo could not find housing or support himself.

He wanted to return to Brazil, but could not afford the plane ticket. “A friend told me about IOM when I wanted to return but did not have the means to do so.” Reinaldo visited IOM offices in Dublin and learned that he could apply for assistance with the cost of his return. He could also apply for the IOM reintegration grant to help him start a small business in Brazil.

Matilde’s son moved to Ireland in 2007, and he found great job opportunities. Two years later, Matilde decided to join him so that she could find work as well. Matilde liked Ireland and found odd jobs, but was unable to find permanent employment without a visa. 

Matilde missed Brazil and could not support herself. Her son could not afford to support her, so she applied for assisted voluntary return through IOM.

After she returned, Matilde was happy to be with her husband again. She felt that returning was the right decision. She applied for the reintegration grant and used the fund to begin a small textile shop and purchase sewing machines for her to make clothing.

Mariana and José came to Ireland together as students from Brazil in 2005. They lived near Dublin for nearly three years, during which time they had three children. Her mother moved to Ireland to help care for the growing family. Unfortunately, Mariana and José were unable to renew their student visas, and found that they were now irregular migrants in Ireland. She and José were able to work short-term jobs, but were not earning enough to support their children. Mariana and José realised that they needed to return to Brazil.

However, they could not afford to pay for the entire family to travel home. They decided to approach IOM to ask for assistance in moving back to Brazil. Mariana and José also needed assistance in organizing travel papers, since their visas had expired. They were relieved to learn that they could apply for the reintegration grant, which meant that they could begin a business for themselves after they returned. Mariana and José used the grant to complete a course together in sales training. Soon after, José secured employment with a wholesale company.