Resettlement is an international protection tool which meets the specific needs of refugees and other vulnerable persons of concern. Resettlement is also a durable solution for refugees as well as a demonstration of international solidarity and responsibility-sharing with those countries hosting large numbers of refugees. It gives a chance to begin life anew to many who would otherwise have neither home nor country to call their own. 

IOM supports the Government of Sudan in facilitating the movement of refugees. In collaboration with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the Sudan Commission for Refugees (COR) and other relevant Sudanese authorities, IOM implements resettlement activities that include facilitation of travel documents, transportation, health assessments and protocols, pre-departure cultural orientation and family reunification procedures. The implementation of resettlement and movement management operations at IOM Sudan started in 2005 and has facilitated the movement of refugees and migrants to 29 different countries in the form of resettlement to a third country, voluntary repatriation and assisted voluntary return to the respective countries of origin.

Family reunification (FAP)

The IOM Family Assistance Programme (FAP) is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office to facilitate the family reunification of vulnerable migrants who are compelled to leave their country, with a person with protection status in Germany. The programme started in 2016 with the operation of five service centres in Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq, where Syrian and Iraqi nationals could apply for family reunification visas. After successfully enhancing and managing this regular migration pathway to Germany over the past two years, the programme has now been expanded to support beneficiaries from various nationalities through a network of service centres across ten countries. The Family Assistance Programme offers a regular migration pathway for migrants in vulnerable situations.  

FAP in Sudan empowers families with information and visa-related services and provides both in-person and remote assistance to a high volume of vulnerable families in a safe, empowering and migrant-friendly environment by informing them about the visa requirements, checking their applications for completeness and fast-tracking complete applications. It conducts completeness checks, provides information, assists in preparing visa applications and facilitates visa appointment scheduling. Staffed with native speakers in Arabic, Kurdish, Tigrinya, Amharic, Somali, Dari and Pashto, FAP staff is trained to attend to the specific needs of beneficiaries, whether they are elderly, women or girls at risk, unaccompanied or separated children, or others.