Terms & Conditions

The website “Information Portal on Voluntary Return and Reintegration”, online at www.ReturningfromGermany.de/en (hereinafter the “Website”) is developed and maintained by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in cooperation with the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). These Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy provided below (hereinafter the “General Terms and Conditions of Use”) govern the use of the Website. By using this Website, the user agrees to be bound by these General Terms and Conditions contained herein. For the purpose of these General Terms and Conditions, anyone who views, consults or otherwise uses the Website is regarded as the user of the Website.

IOM, BAMF and other third party information providers, provide all content published by IOM on the Website including but not limited to texts, documents, logos, designs, visual materials, photographs, videos and other materials that may include but are not limited to the Information Centre for Voluntary Return (ZIRF)-counselling Country-Fact-Sheets (CFS), case-specific or Individual Return-related Inquiries (IRI), information on the process of voluntary return and reintegration, programmes, and information regarding counselling centres in Germany (hereinafter referred to as the “Materials”) for informational purposes only. IOM and BAMF discharge any liability or obligation under or in relation to the Materials of such third-party information providers.

IOM and BAMF reserve the right to deny, at their sole discretion, any user access to this Website or any portion thereof without notice.

BAMF reserve the exclusive right, at its sole discretion, to alter, limit or discontinue the Website without notice, and shall have no obligation to take the needs of any user into consideration in connection therewith.

All intellectual property rights of IOM and/or BAMF relating to their own proper Materials shall remain vested in IOM and BAMF accordingly, unless otherwise stated. All intellectual property rights of a third-party Materials provider (e.g. counselling centres, organisations or other) have its rights vested in that party accordingly after having submitted Materials to IOM for publication on the Website. IOM reserves the right not to publish any Material in whole or in part without giving any reason.

Although IOM and BAMF make reasonable efforts to obtain reliable Materials from third parties, IOM and BAMF do not guarantee the accuracy of any third-party Materials and do not guarantee that the third-party Materials do not infringe any other third-party intellectual property rights.

BAMF reserves the right to assert ownership of information collected on the websites.

Copyright and Permissions

All Materials are copyright of IOM and/or BAMF unless otherwise stated. The Materials may be viewed, downloaded, shared and printed for personal and non-commercial use only, without any right to sell, resell, redistribute with commercial purposes or create derivate works therefrom.

Any other use including extraction, translation, reproduction, and distribution, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, including but not limited to commercial purposes, require the explicit prior written permission of both or either IOM and/or BAMF. Such permission shall be sought by contacting returningfromgermany@iom.int or info@bamf.bund.de respectively.

For all Materials on this Website, unless otherwise stated, IOM and/or BAMF should be credited as the source, unless otherwise stated. The user shall include the URL of the Materials, as well as the following credit line: © International Organization for Migration (IOM) Year for IOM and/or © German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) Year for BAMF. Mention of IOM and/or BAMF as the source of the Materials shall not be made in any way that would implicitly or explicitly assert or suggest endorsement, sponsorship or affiliation by IOM and/or BAMF.

Press Releases, Stories and Press Briefing Notes may be reproduced freely without the right to sell or charge for its use, provided IOM and/or BAMF is specifically and clearly identified as the source of the Materials. Materials published in the news section of the Website (https://www.returningfromgermany.de/en/news) or within the restricted login area (https://returningfromgermany.de/en/login/) do not constitute Press Releases and/or Press Briefing Not unless explicitly stated so.

Videos may be shown, reproduced and/or broadcasted freely without the right to sell or charge for its use, unless otherwise stated. For non-IOM copyright video materials in broadcast quality, please refer to shot lists for information on access and restrictions. IOM and/or BAMF should be credited as the source, unless otherwise stated. The user must include the URL of the materials, as well as the following credit line: © International Organization for Migration (IOM) 20xx and/or © German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) 20xx.

Mention of IOM as the source of the materials shall not be made in any way that would implicitly or explicitly assert or suggest endorsement, sponsorship or affiliation by IOM.

Permission to use Materials which are not owned by IOM and/or BAMF, must be requested from third parties Materials providers.

IOM Logo

To request permission to use the IOM logo, please contact:

International Organization for Migration
Publications Unit
17 route des Morillons
CH-1211 Geneva, 19 Switzerland
E-mail: publications@iom.int

The Website is optimized for both desktop and mobile devices, also with lower resolutions and less available data.

Other websites may link to the Website without seeking the permission of IOM or BAMF. However, such links must clearly identify IOM and BAMF as the source of the information displayed and preserve the integrity of the Website without alteration.

If the contact form is used for communication, the user needs to include the e-mail address, because without this data the request cannot be processed.

If a user makes use of this option, the data transmitted to IOM is stored. At the time the message is sent using the contact form, the following data is stored: IP address of the accessing computer; Date and time of registration.

If a message is received via the contact form, IOM replies by e-mail. Otherwise, the user needs to explicitly request to use an alternative method of communication. When using the contact form, the content of the data fields is transmitted to the IOM´s SSIM (Software Solutions and Information Management). By sending the contact form, the user consents to the transmission and storage of the personal data and IP address in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 (f) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Processing and temporary storage of personal data serve the purpose of answering inquiries within the framework of Article 17 of the German Basic Law (Grundgesetz).

If the request cannot be dealt with by the staff responsible, it will be forwarded to the appropriate department within IOM.

If you do not consent to the processing of your data, you can terminate the contact process at any time. Your message will then not be sent.

IOM attempts to respond to electronic messages received through the contact form or via e-mail addresses that are listed on the Website, in documents on the Website or provided above in these General Terms and Conditions. However, IOM and/or BAMF are under no obligation whatsoever to respond to any or all such messages.

These General Terms and Conditions are written in two languages. In the event if these General Terms and Conditions are translated into another language(s), English text will prevail.

While reasonable efforts are made to provide a good quality translation of certain Materials on the Website, they cannot be guaranteed to be error free. IOM and BAMF do not provide any warranties and specifically disclaim any liability whatsoever in connection with the translated Materials available on the Website. Some Materials on the Website may not be translated or appear in the desired language. Some features of the Website may not work as expected due to language restrictions of the Website.

The Materials are provided on an "as is" basis, without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including without limitation, warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. Neither IOM nor BAMF specifically does not make any warranties or representations as to the appropriateness, quality, timeliness, accuracy or completeness of the Materials.

While IOM or BAMF cannot make any warranties that there are no errors on the Website, they do endeavour, where appropriate, to correct errors that are drawn to their attention.

The use of the Website is at a user's sole risk. By using the Website, the User agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless IOM and BAMF, their employees, information providers and Materials providers from and against any losses, damages, expenses (including legal fees and costs), claims, suits and liabilities to the extent arising out of or resulting from the use of the Website.

Neither IOM, BAMF nor any of their employees, information providers or Materials providers accept any responsibility whatsoever for the appropriateness, quality, accuracy, timeliness and completeness of the Materials.

Neither IOM, BAMF nor any of their employees, information providers or Materials providers shall be liable to any user or anyone else for any inaccuracy, error, omission, interruption, timeliness, incompleteness, deletion, defect, failure of performance, computer virus, communication line failure, alteration or use of any Material published on the Website, regardless of cause, or for any damages resulting therefrom.

If the user is dissatisfied with any Material on the Website or with any of these General Terms and Conditions governing the Website, a User's sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue using the Website.

This Website uses Google Maps API(s) Services for the purpose of displaying the geoinformation and locations of counselling centres on a map within the search function for counselling centres and in order to allow the user to help to navigate from the user’s selected location to a counselling centre (https://returningfromgermany.de/en/centres/). The depiction and use of boundaries, geographic names, and related data shown on maps and included in lists, tables, documents, and databases on the Website are not warranted to be error free nor do they imply judgment on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries by IOM or BAMF.

The Website may contain advice, opinions, and statements of various information and third-party Materials providers. IOM and BAMF do not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other information provided by any information provider or Materials provider, or any other person or entity. Reliance upon any such opinion, advice, statement, or other information shall be at a user’s own risk.

IOM and BAMF do not necessarily support policies and beliefs of third parties’ information providers or other organizations and individuals listed or referred to in Materials held on the Website.

IOM and BAMF do not provide any warranties and specifically disclaims any liability whatsoever in connection with third party websites or links. The Website provides linked sites only as a convenience and the inclusion of a link or reference does not imply the endorsement of the linked site by IOM or BAMF.

The User specifically acknowledges and agrees that IOM is not liable for any conduct of any user.

While IOM makes every effort to ensure the Materials available on the Website are free of any software virus, it cannot guarantee that the Materials are free from any software viruses. IOM is not responsible for any loss or damage caused by software and related codes, including viruses and worms.

The Website implements a series of technologies and security measures, such as encryption and/or authentication tools, in order to safeguard the information maintained on IOM's systems from misuse, unauthorized access or disclosure, alteration, or loss.

Although IOM applies reasonable means to ensure that the information the user furnishes is not used by third parties for purposes other than that for which it was provided, IOM cannot guarantee that unauthorized third parties will never be able to defeat security measures or use your personal information for improper purposes. The user should be aware that no transmission of information via the internet is ever totally secure. Transmission is therefore at the user’s own risk.

While IOM and BAMF have a strong interest in the integrity of their online service providers, particularly with a view towards their reliability and the protection of personal information, it does not provide any warranties and specifically disclaims any liability whatsoever in connection with services. IOM and BAMF further disclaim any liability of any nature for any loss or damage howsoever caused in connection with using any of the services.

International Organization of Migration (IOM)
Software Solutions & Information Management (SSIM) Unit
Charlottenstraße 68
10117 Berlin
IOM-germany@iom.int

Hosting

Azure Cloud

Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or in relation to these General Terms and Conditions, or the breach, termination or invalidity thereof, shall be settled amicably by negotiation between the parties.

In the event that the dispute, controversy or claim has not been resolved by negotiation within 3 (three) months of receipt of the notice from one party of the existence of such dispute, controversy or claim, either Party may request that the dispute, controversy or claim is resolved by conciliation by one conciliator in accordance with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Conciliation Rules of 1980. Article 16 of the UNCITRAL Conciliation Rules does not apply.

In the event that such conciliation is unsuccessful, either Party may submit the dispute, controversy or claim to arbitration no later than 3 (three) months following the date of termination of conciliation proceedings as per Article 15 of the UNCITRAL Conciliation Rules. The arbitration will be carried out in accordance with the 2010 UNCITRAL arbitration rules as adopted in 2013. The number of arbitrators shall be one and the language of arbitral proceedings shall be English, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties in writing. The arbitral tribunal shall have no authority to award punitive damages. The arbitral award will be final and binding.

The present General Terms and Conditions as well as the arbitration agreement above shall be governed by the terms of the present General Terms and Conditions and supplemented by internationally accepted general principles of law for the issues not covered by the General Terms and Conditions to the exclusion of any single national system of law that would defer the General Terms and Conditions to the laws of any given jurisdiction. Internationally accepted general principles of law shall be deemed to include the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts. Dispute resolution shall be pursued confidentially by both Parties. This Article survives the expiration or termination of the present General Terms and Conditions.

Privacy Policy

Anonymous Browsing

Users can browse the Website without revealing any personal information.

External Links

The Website may contain links to other websites. If clicking on these links, the user leaves the website. These external sites are not under control of IOM or BAMF and may deviate from IOM´s and BAMF´s data protection measures. IOM and BAMF are not responsible for the information or content on third-party websites. Personal data that are passed on to third-party providers who are not connected to IOM or BAMF is not covered by this data protection declaration.

It is recommended to read the data protection provisions of each company carefully before disclosing personal information to them. Several third-party providers may, under certain circumstances, pass personal data on to IOM and BAMF. In this case, the disclosure is subject to the data protection provisions of the respective third-party provider.

YouTube Videos

This website embeds videos from YouTube. This always requires that YouTube is aware of the IP address of the visiting users, as it cannot send the video content to the browser of the respective user without the IP address. The IP address is therefore required in order to display this video content. Further information on this can be found in YouTube's or Google's privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy.

The videos are embedded in "extended data protection mode", i.e. no data about you as a user is transmitted to YouTube if you do not play the videos. When you click on the video, the browser data and the information that you have accessed the corresponding subpage of our website are transmitted to YouTube. YouTube is also informed that you are watching the video.

If the user is logged in to YouTube, this information is also assigned to your user account. You can prevent this by logging out of YouTube before viewing the video. We have no influence on the transmission of data to or further data processing by YouTube. YouTube also processes your personal data in the United States of America (USA). The USA is what is known as a third country, which means that the level of data protection is currently not comparable with that in the European Union (EU). BAMF has no influence on the collection of data or its further use by YouTube. Information on which data is processed by YouTube/Google and for which purposes can be found in the privacy policy of YouTube or Google: https://policies.google.com/privacy.

Cookies

This Website uses Matomo Analytics, a self-hosted website analysis platform, that collects information (“cookies”), small bits of code stored on the user´s computer hard drive. When visiting the Website, some information, such as the browser, the type of machine used, language preference, the number of clicks done by the user, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses as well as navigational information such as dates and times spent on the Website, page visits or types of downloads of Materials are collected. The Website’s purpose in collecting these non-personally identifying information is to better understand how Users use the Website and to optimize it accordingly. IOM may use non-personally-identifying information for statistical and research purposes.

The user is free to decline cookies if the browser permits, although in that case the user may be required to re-enter information more frequently to use certain services on the websites.

Use of Google AdWords

This Website uses Google AdWords, an online advertising service, which links the Website’s online Ads to the Website providing Google Ads within Google search results and on external websites, that collects information (“cookies”), which is non-personally identifying information of the User such as a browser type, keywords put into a Google Search, referring external website, the date and time of each visitor request for the Website using Google Ads, and the IP address. This is in order to enable a better placement of advertisements that are relevant to the target users and therefore improve outreach for the Website.

Personal Information

IOM does not collect personal information, such as the name, mailing address, e-mail address, and other information of users, unless such information is voluntarily disclosed, for example by publishing official and public contact information of counselling centres (name of the centre, regular and email address, phone number) on the pages of counselling centres on the Website (https://returningfromgermany.de/en/centres/), by sending a message via the contact form, by subscribing to a newsletter, by participating in surveys, by publishing case-specific and/or individual inquiries requests which will be rendered anonymous and deidentified for publication on the restricted login area of the Website. In such event, IOM will only use the personal information for the purpose for which it was disclosed. IOM will not process further this information. Additionally, information included in messages will not be stored in any cloud-computing services.

The user may request to access, verify, change or delete his/her personal information provided to the Website. For this and for any other further assistance, please contact returningfromgermany@iom.int.

IOM does not sell, distribute or rent personal information collected on its Website. At any time, IOM processes personal information, it applies its Data Protection Principles.

IOM relies on service providers for the provision of services, such as Website traffic analysis (Matomo Analytics) or electronic newsletters (MailJet).

IOM does not share personal information with any third party.

IOM does not intend to either solicit or collect personal information from anyone under the age of 13 years. Individuals under the age of 13, should not use or enter personal information on the Website through the contact form for instance.

If you have any questions or concerns about these General Terms and Conditions, please contact:

International Organization for Migration (IOM) Germany
Charlottenstraße 68
10117 Berlin
Germany
Tel: +49 30 2787780
Email: returningfromgermany@iom.int
Chief of Mission: Damian Thuriaux

Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF)
Frankenstraße 210
90461 Nuremberg
Germany
Tel: +49 911 9430
Email: info@bamf.bund.de

IOM reserves the right to change these General Terms and Conditions at any time, without notice. IOM will post changes to these General Terms and Conditions at: https://www.returningfromgermany.de/en/imprint

Status of IOM

Nothing in these General Terms and Conditions affects the privileges and immunities enjoyed by IOM as an intergovernmental organization.