Return Migration Policies Research Articles

A multi‐scalar critical analysis of return migration policies in Mexico

AbstractServices and resources for migrants returning to Mexico are necessary to ease their transition and “re‐integration” into home communities. Policies that do not have a holistic approach can result in serious implications for the social, political, cultural, and health of returnees, receiving families, and communities. This research critically analyses return migration policies in Mexico drawing from the intersectionality‐based policy analysis framework and a multi‐scalar approach to critically study return migration policies in Mexico. We analysed 20 return migration policies using the principles of the intersectionality‐based policy analysis framework. In 2021, we interviewed those impacted by return migration policies in Veracruz, Mexico to gain deeper insights into return migration policies. Women who stayed behind, return migrants, community leaders, and health‐care providers were interviewed via phone or face‐to‐face in Spanish. Information was transcribed verbatim and analysed with the aid of computer‐assisted data analysis software and quotes were translated into English. They shed light on two major inequities in policies: (1) the lack of acknowledgement of diversity or return migrants and (2) the exclusion of receiving families and communities from the “re‐integration” process of return migrants. Based on the multi‐scalar critical policy analysis, return migration policies in Mexico would benefit from a more comprehensive and inclusive approach where the needs of return migrants and community members are protected based on their diversity.

Conservation and development of human resources through the return migration policy

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to develop the theoretical and methodological foundations for the study of return migration policy based on its information support, including regression analysis and authors’ sociological research on return intentions of Ukrainian migrants.
 Methodology / approach. The mathematical tools were used for the assessment of Ukraine’s economical losses, related to migration. With the help of the sociological method (survey) migrants’ intentions and main motives to return were investigated. Stepwise regression model was built for identification of main factors of Ukrainian population’s international migration. Besides, general scientific methods were used in the study, such as: analysis, generalization, systematization, tabular and graphical.
 Results. Analysis showed the lack of statistical and sociological information on international migration (particularly return migration) of Ukrainian population. It substantiates the need for improving the system of information provision of migration policy. The results of the survey of the migrants from the Carpathian region of Ukraine (conducted in 2020) show low level of their readiness to return. According to the answers to the questionnaire, there are two main circumstances that could motivate migrants to return: high level of wages and general improving of economic situation in Ukraine. Due to the regression model it was found that the emigration of the population is influenced by the following factors: average monthly wages, gross regional product per capita, foreign direct investment per economically active person and the share of the population with incomes below the subsistence level. The article provides main benefits and ways of implementation of the return migration policy. Particularly, circular migration is considered as a good way to slow down losses of human resources. It is beneficial for all institutional units of the migration process.
 Originality / scientific novelty. The methodology for the consequences of international migration study is improved. In particular, the formula for determination of migration losses through the calculation of economic activity losses is proposed and calculated for the first time. The theoretical foundation of return migration policy is developed. In particular, the model of return migration process on the individual level is elaborated. The sociological tool for the return migration investigation is developed and tested.
 Practical value / implications. The practical recommendations for the human resources conservation are worked out. The questions for the survey, developed by the authors, could be used in further investigations in this issue. The model of return migration process is useful for developing a comprehensive return migration policy, which could support migrants at all stages of this process: decisions making, movement and reintegration.

Conservation and development of human resources through the return migration policy

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to develop the theoretical and methodological foundations for the study of return migration policy based on its information support, including regression analysis and authors’ sociological research on return intentions of Ukrainian migrants.
 Methodology / approach. The mathematical tools were used for the assessment of Ukraine’s economical losses, related to migration. With the help of the sociological method (survey) migrants’ intentions and main motives to return were investigated. Stepwise regression model was built for identification of main factors of Ukrainian population’s international migration. Besides, general scientific methods were used in the study, such as: analysis, generalization, systematization, tabular and graphical.
 Results. Analysis showed the lack of statistical and sociological information on international migration (particularly return migration) of Ukrainian population. It substantiates the need for improving the system of information provision of migration policy. The results of the survey of the migrants from the Carpathian region of Ukraine (conducted in 2020) show low level of their readiness to return. According to the answers to the questionnaire, there are two main circumstances that could motivate migrants to return: high level of wages and general improving of economic situation in Ukraine. Due to the regression model it was found that the emigration of the population is influenced by the following factors: average monthly wages, gross regional product per capita, foreign direct investment per economically active person and the share of the population with incomes below the subsistence level. The article provides main benefits and ways of implementation of the return migration policy. Particularly, circular migration is considered as a good way to slow down losses of human resources. It is beneficial for all institutional units of the migration process.
 Originality / scientific novelty. The methodology for the consequences of international migration study is improved. In particular, the formula for determination of migration losses through the calculation of economic activity losses is proposed and calculated for the first time. The theoretical foundation of return migration policy is developed. In particular, the model of return migration process on the individual level is elaborated. The sociological tool for the return migration investigation is developed and tested.
 Practical value / implications. The practical recommendations for the human resources conservation are worked out. The questions for the survey, developed by the authors, could be used in further investigations in this issue. The model of return migration process is useful for developing a comprehensive return migration policy, which could support migrants at all stages of this process: decisions making, movement and reintegration.

Experiences of Healthcare Worker Returnees in Their Home Countries: A Scoping Review.

BackgroundInternational migration of healthcare workers is a global phenomenon driven by growing demand in developed countries and expectations of healthcare workers from developing countries to have improved employment and lives. This migration has been understood to impact both the individuals and countries involved, with positive and negative consequences. However, little is known about returnees’ experiences that could be used to address challenges and optimize benefits. The aim of this review was to understand what is known about experiences of migrant health workers after returning to their home countries.MethodsA scoping review of primary research addressing experiences of migrant health workers upon their return to their homelands. A range of database were searched including Career and Technical Education Database via ProQuest, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Education database via ProQuest, Excerpta Medica Care (EMCare) via Ovid, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Excerpta Medica database (EMBASE) via Ovid, MEDLINE and Scopus. A systematic process was performed guided by the work of Arksey and O’Malley. Eight databases were searched and 226 articles were retrieved. After screening articles and abstracts, 15 full-texts were assessed for eligibility, and finally seven studies were further analyzed and synthesized.ResultsFive qualitative studies, one quantitative study and one mixed methods study met inclusion criteria. Five themes emerged: (1) reasons to return, (2) upskilling and deskilling, (3) impact on human, financial, and social capital, (4) challenges and opportunities in the home country, and (5) facilitation supports.ConclusionReturn migration is portrayed as a complex situation experienced by returnees. Structured policy and supports are required to help healthcare worker returnees prepare, and to adjust to life after their return. This study highlights the importance of comprehensive approach in return migration stage. Return migration policy should support healthcare worker returnees in their home country and facilitate utilization of their skills. Multi-stakeholder partnerships are vital to develop platforms for helping and facilitating returnees in the reintegration process at their home countries.

Return migration and re-integration of returnees challenges in the origin country

Abstract Return migration, traditionally not a well-studied and often neglected area, is becoming an important component of the international migration debate. Reintegration is an essential part of return migration and identified as a complex process that is experienced differently by returnees. The adaptation of immigrants in the host country has been extensively studied, while much less attention has been paid to economic and socio-cultural reintegration and the difficulties return migrants face once they come back to their homeland. Especially children and youth born in destination countries with sociolinguistic and socialization difficulties face a particularly tough reintegration process. Theoretically, there is comprehensive literature focused on return migration and reasons for return, but less in return migration policies and reintegration process. Empirically, there is a lack of studies focused on the reintegration of returnees, particularly in the socio-cultural aspect. With increased attention to the importance of this process, many states and governments have established policies or programs to encourage the return of their citizens, and facilitate returnees’ successful and permanent relocation in the new society of the origin country. This paper aims to analyze theoretically and empirically the processes of reintegration of returnees in the origin country by identifying the challenges they encounter in the economic and social-cultural life of the origin country.

Stimulating return migration to Romania: a multi-method study of returnees’ endorsement of entrepreneurship policies

ABSTRACT This study sought to address an important gap in the contemporary literature on intra-European return migration and examines the factors shaping Romanian returnees’ support for return policies based on entrepreneurship. Empirical evidence collected using a multi-method approach was analysed to identify how various features linked to migration experiences and return influence returnees’ likelihood of supporting these types of policies. The quantitative results of logistic regression analyses were complemented by a systematic analysis of qualitative insights collected through in-depth interviews. The general profile of Romanian returnees who support policies focused on entrepreneurship includes the extension of social networks during migration, improvements in self-confidence levels, longer periods after return and urban residential status. A lower probability of favouring these types of policies is determined by returnees’ positive evaluation of pay levels in the local labour market, remittances during migration periods and a higher importance given to the value of migration in terms of learning foreign languages. The in-depth interviews facilitated the identification of the main lines of discourse about what Romanian returnees and a counterfactual control group of non-migrant entrepreneurs think about return migration policy implementation in Romania.

Return Migrants’ Impact in Economic Development of the Origin Country

Migration has reciprocal economic implications between the origin and host countries. While scholars draw attention to the globalization of migration, since the 1960s there is a perpetual debate about the migration and development nexus. The role of international migrants and their financial remittances are identified as having a highly positive effect on the home country’s development. Emigrants’ remittances tangibly benefit the income for the families in the home country and investments in different sectors (housing, education, health, entrepreneurship, etc.). Next to remittances, returned migrants, especially those highly skilled are recognized as actors and drivers of significant economic development in the homeland. The contribution of return migrants to the development in origin countries can be beneficial not simply by investing the financial capital they accumulated during the migration cycle but also by the transferring of expertise, knowledge and new skills acquired abroad, and acting as social change agents in the home society. Empirical studies indicate a positive relationship between return migration and entrepreneurial activity, therefore enterprises can be a substantial contributor, among others, to economic growth and alleviating poverty of the origin country. Governments and policymakers are increasingly interested in the issue of return migration and return migration policies that attract and facilitate the returnee’s reintegration. Reintegration programs, especially those in the business sector, benefit the development of the origin country through savings, investments, easing of entrepreneurial opportunities and the expertise of returnees. This paper aims to identify whether return migration is beneficial for the origin country and especially to analyze the role of return migrant’s in the economic development of the origin country through engaging in entrepreneurial activity

Return migration, entrepreneurship and development: Contrasting the economic growth perspective of Senegal’s diaspora policy through a migrant-centred approach

ABSTRACTIn recent years, the prominence of ‘migration’ as a policy domain in many African countries has shifted from labour-export policies to so-called ‘diaspora policies’. In these policies, migration is emphasised as a key instrument to stimulate development, particularly through return to the homeland and migrant entrepreneurship. Despite much attention accorded to migrants’ agency and affiliated cultural aspects in the ‘migration and development nexus’ debate, practices of return migration policy suffer from an inconsistency problem. The intention to promote national development is restricted by conceptual boundaries that define ‘return migration’ as a uni-directional flow from countries of immigration to countries of origin, and that reduce ‘development’ to its economic dimension. Acknowledging that migration and development have been long recognised in the scholarly literature as multi-faceted phenomena, this article exposes this inconsistency problem through ethnographic research among return businessmen in Senegal, whose experiences are advocated in diaspora policy as ideal returnees. I show how their practices are rooted in transnational relationships with the former country of immigration and, by implication, are built on bi-directional rather than uni-directional flows. Their motivations to return and invest depend on the sustainability of such relationships. I further illustrate that, by cultivating transnational linkages, initiating innovation and setting new examples, return businessmen bring implications for development well beyond economic growth as the core interest of diaspora policy. I conclude that the framing of development as a goal of diaspora policy in economic terms neglects what return migrants themselves value as important development objectives and outcomes.

Do Return Migration Policies Matter? A typology of young Romanian returnees’ attitudes towards return policies

Abstract During the last decades, the interest in migration policies has increased, both at institutional level and in academia. However, if the scientific understanding of policies associated with migration at destination has tremendously advanced, our knowledge about origin countries interventions in migration stays limited. Our paper addresses one of the largely unexplored topic of this area: if and what kind of policies supporting return/returnees the returnees themselves find appropriate. The analysis is based on 120 interviews with Romanian returnees, aged 18 to 39, coming back after at least 6 months of working or studying abroad in different EU countries. The article reveals that even if the return policies are generally positively evaluated by the Romanian returned migrants, not all of them support the idea of having policies specially designed for attracting migrants back to the origin country. Some of them simply reject the idea and others are sceptical about the state capacity of implementing this type of policies. The paper explores all the main clusters of attitudes towards return migration policies and illustrates each of them with excerpts from in-depth interviews.

Return Schemes from European Countries: Assessing the Challenges

AbstractDrawing on a review of the academic literature on return migration and return migration policies, as well as on reports and project documentation, this article provides a general assessment of return schemes from European countries, with a focus on those targeting failed asylum‐seekers and irregular migrants. The article first highlights the contrasted understanding of return and reintegration by migration policy‐makers and migration scholars respectively. It then provides an overview of the main challenges, focusing on seven key issues: preparedness to return, the imbalance of represented interests, legal mobility, conditions in the countries of origin, the reintegration package, integration in Europe, and the specific obstacles to return faced by failed asylum‐seekers. The article highlights the need to reassess return policies and frame more realistic schemes.

Return migration policies from a transnational approach: the case of Spain and Colombia

Introduction: At the present time, in a context marked by the economic crisis in Europe and the USA, an expansion of new dynamics of mobility is observed. In this scenario, the phenomenon of return migration has gained increased interest in both the political and academic field. Following a theoretical transnational approach, this article collects and analyses policies and voluntary return programmes promoted by the Spanish and the Colombian governments, considering the way in which return migration is conceived in terms of management and temporality, and identifying the returnees’ profile considered in these policies.Method: The text presents a qualitative analysis of the policies and the main programmes promoted by both countries, being the analysis conducted in two dimensions: types of action towards return migration and type of returnees’ profile.Results: Policies developed from Spain are characterised for being especially targeted to a profile of return migrant that is at risk of being in a vulnerable position or is already experiencing one. They also highlight the imposition of non-entry into Spain to reside for a period of three years, denying, therefore, circular mobility or re-migration. On the other hand, the Colombian government stated in its regulations a broader typology of returnees, however, the programmes developed have focused on selective returned profiles: qualified or entrepreneur returnees.Conclusion: The analysis of the return migration policies and programmes from Spain and Colombia shows that the actions focus on specific profiles of returnees, not taking into account the variability of situations and factors affecting the return migration. Moreover, there is a lack of coordinated origin-destination management, which results in an absence of transnational management approaches that could bring together resources and target the process from a more holistic point of view. Introducción: En la actualidad, en un contexto marcado por la crisis económica en Europa y EEUU, se observa una expansión de nuevas dinámicas de movilidad. En este escenario el fenómeno de la migración de retorno ha ido adquiriendo un mayor interés en el ámbito político y académico. A partir de una mirada teórica transnacional, el artículo recoge y analiza las políticas y programas de retorno voluntario impulsados desde España y Colombia, atendiendo al modo en el que se concibe la migración de retorno en términos de gestión y temporalidad, e identificando los perfiles que han sido objetos de dichas acciones.Método: El texto presenta un análisis cualitativo de la normativa y los principales programas impulsados por ambos países, encontrándose vehiculado el análisis por dos dimensiones: tipo de actuación adoptada ante el retorno; y perfiles objeto de tales políticas.Resultados: Las políticas desarrolladas desde España se caracterizan por estar dirigidas especialmente a un perfil de migrante en situación o riesgo de vulnerabilidad, destacando asimismo la imposición de no entrada a España para residir en un término de tres años, y negando, por tanto, movimientos circulares o de re-migración. Por su parte, el gobierno colombiano recoge en su normativa una tipología más amplia de retornados, aunque los programas desarrollados se han centrado en un perfil de retornado selectivo: el cualificado o emprendedor.Conclusión: El análisis de la normativa y programas de España y Colombia en materia de retorno da cuenta de una focalización hacia perfiles de retornados concretos, obviando la variabilidad de situaciones y factores que inciden en el retorno. Por otro lado, se advierte la carencia de una gestión origen-destino coordinada, habiendo una ausencia de planteamientos de gestión transnacionales que permitirían aunar recursos y atender al proceso de manera integral, y no como si de fases aisladas se tratara.

Foreign policy priorities and ethnic return migration policies: group-level variation in Greece and Serbia

ABSTRACTWhy do ethnoculturally defined states pursue favourable policies to integrate some returnees from their historical diasporas while neglecting or excluding others? We study this question by looking at members of two historical diasporas that, in the 1990s, returned to their respective ethnic homelands, Greece and Serbia, but were not treated uniformly by their respective governments. Utilising a wide range of primary sources, we consider evidence for a number of plausible explanations for such policy variation, including the economic profile of an ethnic returnee group, its status in internal ethnic hierarchies, its lobbying power, and dynamics of party politics. We find, instead, that the observed variation is best explained by the role that each particular group played in the ruling elites’ ex ante foreign policy objectives. Elites discouraged the repatriation of co-ethnics from parts of the world they still had claims over, by pursuing unfavourable repatriation policies. Conversely, absent a revisionist claim, states adopted favourable repatriation policies to encourage their repatriation and facilitate their integration upon return. Methodologically, the article illustrates the importance of focused comparisons across dyads of states and particular sub-diaspora groups.

Returned Migrants Settlement : Focus on Kazakhstan’s Oralman case

This research evaluatesthe success of the Return Migration Policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan related toreturnKazakhs who are called Oralman. This research focuses on the Oralmans’s migration andadaptation to the societyandanalyzesthe general government Return Migration Policy and the special Return Program in relation to important topics as well as adaptation to new place, the integration into society and the realization of programs. This research contains the following results. First, Kazakhstan’s Migration Policy couldn’t ensure a secure arrival for migrated Kazakhs. Second, the special program for migration which covered the period from 2009-2011 could nottake into accountall returnees’ problems. Third, Oralman faced many problems: accommodation support, job, alimentation, etc. Fourth, they do not receive government benefits on time. Fifth, Oralman have different adaptation problems into new society, particularly in rural areas. Sixth, the bilingual system creates a language barrier for them. Seventh, cultural and religious differences have an impact on Oralman socialization. The government needs to putmucheffort in preparation ofa successful migration policy and to give secureness for returnee Kazakhs. One of the most important factors is to correct the Migration Policy with detailed obligations forboth government and returnee. In addition, local organizations and government organs must enforce the established return Migration Policy so the returned Kazakhs will not experience unfair treatments.

The boundaries of transnationalism: the case of assisted voluntary return migrants

AbstractFew studies on transnationalism have focused on migrants who return to their country of origin with insufficient resources and limited mobility. This study sheds light on the transnational connections of those who went back to Georgia and Armenia from Belgium on a voluntary assisted return and reintegration programme. Using Boccagni's (2012) analytical framework, we reveal the returnees' interpersonal, institutional and symbolic transnational ties. Although these ties were often limited and had little effect on their daily lives, and although the migrants' desire to participate in the transnational field rarely matched their ability to do so, they nonetheless attached great value to them symbolically and emotionally. Our findings question current conceptualizations of transnationalism and the focus on the home country as the sole context in which transnational ties should have an impact. We believe that there is a need to pay greater attention to the subjective and symbolic dimensions of the return–transnationalism field, including the relationship between integration and return migration policies.

EDUCATIONAL MOBILITY AS A MEANS OF RETURN MIGRATION: YOUNG POLISH DIASPORA MEMBERS FROM THE FORMER USSR

Poland has been traditionally a sending migration country. However, in recent years it receiv€es slowly growing number of return migrants. Among returnees arriving from the post-Soviet successor states the dominant group are youngsters who enroll for studies at Polish universities. The purpose of this autobiographical narrative interviews- based study is to present, firstly, the institutional conditions of conducting studies by Polish diaspora members. Particular attention is given to the latter’s arrivals as part of Poland’s return migration policy. Secondly, the article investigates biographical stories and aims at comparing two young Poles’ return paths to the ancestral homeland. It reconstructs their mobility stages in order to specify (1) relations between migration experience and transformation of their national identification and (2) impact of migration experience on their whole biography (biographical relevance). Since they stem from families of multi-ethnic background and relocate to a seemingly known place where only part of their predecessors come from, the concept of “roots migration” is utilised for the purpose of this study.

State-assisted Highly Skilled Return Programmes, National Identity and the Risk(s) of Homecoming: Israel and Germany Compared

State-assisted return programmes (SARPs) have emerged as key components of diaspora mobilisation strategies in countries of origin. Especially in countries where the principle of jus sanguinis underpins citizenship regimes, these programmes have often been drawn from ostensibly national(istic) discourses in order to encourage the repatriation of (mostly highly skilled) citizens residing abroad. Drawing on interviews with public officials and migrants as well as content analysis of primary and secondary materials, this paper examines SARPs deployed by Israel and Germany. It argues that while the discourse and practice within which state programmes are embedded (re-)construct the nation in certain ways that are commensurate with perceived determinants of return, migrants have often rejected these formulations, underscoring instead a range of neglected personal and professional return-oriented risks. The paper's main contribution lies in better clarifying the links between highly skilled return migration policy, national identity and migration determinants and uncovers the diverging articulations of return used by state and migrants alike.

Ethnic Return Migration and Public Debate: The Case of Kazakhstan

AbstractEthnic return migrations tend to become a controversial issue and create public debates within the receiving homeland states because of two major factors. The first concerns the economic and social problems brought on by the migrants′ integration process as well as the socio‐economic burden that such migrations place on homeland institutions. The second involves the inherently discriminatory and exclusionary character of such migrations because they privilege the state‐bearing ethnic group over others. As we will see, this dynamic has important implications for domestic nation‐building. To better understand these influences within Kazakhstan, this article will attempt to analyse the public debate surrounding the government's ethnic return migration policy. It traces the discourse concerning the return of Kazakh oralmans (return migrants) by examining both Kazakh and Russian language publications. Interviews with experts, informal discussions with return migrants and the testimonies of long‐term residents in the country are also used to this end.

The significance of ethnicity in the Estonian return migration policy of the early 1920s

In this article the Estonian return migration policy is analyzed from the perspective of the return migrants’ ethnicity. The time period of this study covers the most intensive phase of the state-organized return of emigrants to the newly established Republic of Estonia. The survey of attitudes of the Estonian authorities towards the return of emigrants with different ethnic backgrounds leads to the conclusions that the return of ethnic Estonians was preferred to the return of non-Estonians during the first years of Estonia's independence on both economic and political grounds. The political loyalty of non-Estonians was doubted in the administrative circles of Estonia which was especially the case with regard to the emigrants that had formerly belonged to the ruling power elites. The negative attitudes towards the return of non-Estonians were further aggravated by the crisis the Estonian economy was facing at that time. As a result, a parallel with the return migration policies of other new nation-states that emerged from the ruins of the Russian empire can be drawn.

Constructing the homeland: Kazakhstan's discourse and policies surrounding its ethnic return-migration policy

A new political development that emerged after the disintegration of the Soviet Union was the adoption of ‘homeland stances’ by the newly independent states. Through the construction of the homeland image, the states of the region claimed responsibility not only for their own citizens, but also for a diaspora community of co-ethnics. Kazakhstan became one of these states and its leadership portrayed Kazakhstan as the homeland of the Kazakh diaspora. Furthermore, Kazakhstan's leadership developed far more active homeland rhetoric and initiated an ethnic return-migration policy as early as 1992. This paper will explore the discourse of Kazakhstan's leadership on the repatriation of its co-ethnics as well as the legal and political context that it created to achieve their smooth absorption into domestic society.

Ethnic Return Migration Policies and Asian American Labor in Japan and Korea

Asian ethnic return migration policies are having an important impact on the lives of Asian Americans. By making it easier for later generation Asian Americans to work and invest in their ancestral homelands, these policies have affected the scale of Asian American migration and their economic, cultural, and social connections to Asia. However, ethnic return migration policies and their effects are not uniform across all Asian American groups. This paper analyzes how Asian Americans are being affected by ethnic return migration policies through comparative examination of the Immigration Control Act in Japan and the Overseas Korean Act in South Korea. The two policies in Japan and South Korea (hereafter Korea) are similar in their initial targeting of ethnic return migrants and in their privileging of skilled workers and investors in the 2000s to increase each country’s competitiveness in the global economy. However, while Korea’s policy has cast a net to include Korean Americans specifically, Japan’s ethnic return migration policy has not been aimed at Japanese Americans in the same way.