Support for return and reintegration
Article 44
1. Member States shall ensure availability of return and reintegration counselling to provide, where relevant, third-country nationals with information and guidance about return and reintegration options, including programmes referred to in paragraph 3, as early in the return process as possible. Return and reintegration counselling may be combined with other counselling in the context of other migration procedures in the Member State. 2. Member States shall ensure that information about return and reintegration is provided at the latest when the return decision is issued. 3. Member States shall ensure the availability of return and reintegration programmes, supported or financed at Union or national level. Such programmes shall include logistical, financial or other material or in-kind assistance or incentives, including reintegration assistance in the country of return, provided to a third-country national. 4. Return and reintegration assistance shall not be an individual right and shall not constitute a pre-requisite for the readmission procedure. 5. The assistance provided through return and reintegration programmes shall reflect the level of cooperation and compliance of the third-country national and may be reduced over time or withdrawn. The following criteria may be taken into account when determining the kind and extent of the return and reintegration assistance where applicable: (a) the cooperation of the third-country national concerned during the return and readmission procedure, as provided for in Article 18; (b) whether the third-country national is returning voluntarily, or is subject to removal; (c) whether the third-country national is a national of a third country listed in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 37 ) ; (d) whether the third-country national has been convicted of a criminal offence; (e) whether the third-country national has specific needs by reason of being a vulnerable person, minor, unaccompanied minor or part of a family; (f) additional criteria under national law. 6. The assistance referred to in this Article shall not be granted to third-country nationals who already benefited from another or the same support provided by a Member State or the Union. The Union, Member States and Frontex shall ensure coherence and coordination on reintegration assistance.