It is a good idea to begin preparations for your departure at least six months before the date you will actually leave. If you intend to travel to a priority country of the CIM programme, please contact CIM in Germany or the responsible advisor for returning experts personally. It is also worth attending a special event on how to make preparations for your return.

You will find an up-to-date listing of all events planned as part of the CIM Returning Experts Programme here.

If your job is in a field that is relevant in development policy terms, you can apply for an allowance toward your travel and transport costs as well as salary topping-up payments. However, you must register online before your departure. You will find a full explanation here.

Your data will only be used internally, for processing your application, and will not be passed on to third parties without your consent.

If your application has been submitted with all of the necessary documentation, you can anticipate a processing period of several weeks. Your application cannot be processed until all documents have been submitted. If your documentation is incomplete, processing takes longer; the same is true if inquiries must be made, for example, to organisations offering scholarships. If in the meantime you have left for your destination country, all further correspondence will take place by email. For this reason it is important that you always inform us of any changes in your current email or postal addresses. We would ask you to be patient and specifically request that you do not inquire about how far processing has progressed or whether your documents have been received. As soon as your application has been processed, you will hear from us by email.

A topping-up agreement is a contract that the returning expert enters into with GIZ/CIM should his/her application for assistance be successful. The topping-up agreement lays out all terms pertaining to financial assistance. The topping-up agreement must be signed by both parties to the contract.

Yes. If after your departure you find a job in a field relevant to development policy within a maximum period of 12 months, we will be happy to consider whether you may be eligible for salary topping-up payments or not. For this, however, you must have registered with us prior to your departure. Complete information concerning applications for salary topping-up payments can be found here.

If you are taking up a position in another developing, emerging or transition country that is of particularly outstanding relevance in terms of development policy, we will be glad to consider whether or not you are eligible for assistance. Please telephone us for further information.

Generally, support for such internships is not possible as part of the programme at this time. Only internships posted by CIM are eligible for support. Further information and explanations can be found here.

No. Double payments for the same expenses are not possible, not even when the travel and transport costs are not covered for your family. If you demonstrate that you meet the necessary prerequisites, however, we will be glad to review the possibility of support in the form of a salary topping-up payment.

Payment will be made as soon as all of the requirements laid out in the topping-up agreement have been met. Among the other things you should provide are your registration in your destination country, a copy of confirmation of your deregistration in Germany from your local German residence registration office, and the original bill for your flight tickets. You must also report by email or telephone to the responsible advisor for returning experts in your destination country.

In the event that you have not completed your studies, please contact us by telephone.

Yes. Under certain conditions you may apply for financial support. But please contact us by telephone first.

You should report first to the advisor for returning experts who is responsible for you. He or she will be glad to assist you directly or to refer you to the appropriate CIM colleagues in Frankfurt.

You will find complete instructions here.

Such support is not generally possible at present within the Returning Experts Programme. If your new livelihood would be particularly relevant in terms of development policy, please telephone us. You can also approach the Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), which conducts a programme for business start-ups in several countries.

No, this is not possible.

Salary topping-up payments are always transferred to your personal bank account.

Transfers to a German account are faster than those to a foreign account. Fees are, however, charged for transfers from a German bank account to a bank account in another country, and these vary in amount from bank to bank. You can find information about international bank transfers at www.geldtransfair.de. Transfers to the bank account of an other person are not possible.

We need all your account details. Please fill out the following form and sign it. We do NOT need data on a referral bank in Germany to transfer funds to the foreign bank. Our transfer will take place automatically via the referral bank responsible. Depending on the country and bank involved, transfers can take from several days to several weeks.

The returning expert pays the costs of all transfers.

The entire programme package is free of charge.