At the end of April, Fedasil organised a closing meeting of the project conducted since 2020 with the French Office of Immigration and Integration (OFII).

The objective of this collaboration with France, planned over a period of two years, was to inform on the ground migrants in transit, without a residence permit, about their rights and options with regard to asylum and return. This transnational approach is relevant given the presence of many migrants in the French-Belgian border area – most of them willing to join the United Kingdom.

The project has been completed since the end of the funding by the European network ERRIN on 30 April. The Belgian and French teams will continue their action on both sides of the border.

Fedasil gives a positive assessment of this partnership. Over time, the Belgian and French teams have been able to exchange their practices in a climate of mutual trust. These two years of close collaboration have demonstrated the importance of working as a multinational team. Fedasil intends to keep in touch with its French counterparts to exchange future experiences.

Reach Out? Since 2019, a Fedasil team has been in charge of the contacts with undocumented and street migrants (especially migrants in transit) present in the major towns of Belgium. The aim is to establish a relationship of trust with them and to inform them of their rights in Belgium regarding the possibilities of reception and social support as well as the possibilities of return.

In 2021, Fedasil's Reach Out team met with more than 2,000 migrants and conducted 471 individual interviews.

The Reach Out project benefits from European funding (AMIF funds).