Ion first decided to leave Moldova in 2009. He had recently married, yet his income was far from sufficient to support his young family. Advised by his a friend to search for better opportunities abroad, Ion paid a large sum of money – most of it borrowed – to agents who helped him to obtain a Schengen visa.

Ion, aged 26, first decided to leave Moldova in 2009. He had recently married, yet his income was far from sufficient to support his young family. Advised by a friend to search for better opportunities abroad, Ion paid a large sum of money – most of it borrowed – to agents who helped him to obtain a Schengen visa. As the visa was issued by the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Chisinau, Ion travelled to Lithuania together with his friend, where the two men purchased a car. When back in Moldova, they managed to sell it for a higher price.

The profit earned encouraged Ion and his friend to further try their luck in Germany. Once there, they put all their savings into purchasing another car. However, even before it was handed over to them, the two men were detained on accusations of theft from a nearby store. They were put in jail, and held for six months on a number of charges. When Ion was eventually released his visa had already expired and he was put on a plane to Lithuania.

When he disembarked in Vilnius, Ion was certain that he had come to a dead-end; traumatized by his recent experiences, he was penniless in a foreign country and felt desolate and lost. He realized that having violated the visa regime he could be detained again for an indefinite period of time. All he could think about was how his family must have been struggling without him and how to get back home as soon as possible. The more so since he knew his wife had already given birth to a second daughter.

At the airport, Ion heard about the possibility to return to Moldova under the IOM Vilnius Assisted Voluntary Return programme and, although suspicious, he made contact with staff at IOM Vilnius staff. Ion applied for voluntary return assistance. He was also advised to submit a preliminary business plan to be considered for reintegration assistance, which he desperately needed in order to be able to provide for his family – now with two small children – and to repay the debts he had incurred prior to his departure and during his time abroad.

Having safely reached home in the village of Dorotcaia in Transnistria and reunited with his family, Ion set out to put his business plan into action. He was soon hired by a taxi company, but realized that his income could be much higher if he had his private car to work with. Determined and motivated, Ion developed a detailed plan for self-employment and eventually purchased a second-hand taxi, with support from IOM.

After several months, Ion’s taxi business was already generating a stable income of approximately MDL 250 (USD 20) per day. Although Ion’s wife was still studying English at the university and the taxi business constituted the only source of income for the young family, the returnee was very hopeful about the future. Ion said he was working very hard and already thinking of expanding his business, perhaps even establishing a small taxi company of his own.