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As a neglected group, the number of return migrant children is growing with China's monumental volume of labor migration. Using data from 2013 to 2014 China Education Panel Survey, this study examines heterogeneous effects of return migration on children's mental health and cognitive outcomes. Our results show that the effects of return migration on children vary with the propensity for return migration. More importantly, when children are at risk of return migration, even if that risk is small, it already has a negative impact on children's mental health, which reminds us that it needs to take a dynamic view to study the impact of return migration on children. However, the impact of return migration is not all negative, and the findings suggest that return migration can promote the cognitive development of urban-origin migrant children. A striking regional difference emerges from our analysis: due to urban-rural gap, the impact of return migration on children from urban and rural areas is different. Specifically, return migration has a positive effect on the cognitive development of urban-origin migrant children while return migration does some harm to that of rural-origin migrant children, which implies that return migration may widen the gap between urban and rural children.

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There are well-documented associations between life course changes and migration; yet, the occurrence, order, and timing of reasons for migrating are growing increasingly diverse. Migration following adverse life events, such as a divorce or an involuntary job loss, may be qualitatively distinct from migration undertaken for other reasons. Moves, especially long-distance moves, following adverse life events, may be defined more by seeking family and familiar locations. Moreover, a heightened probability of migration may occur not only immediately after an adverse life event but also in the years after. We explore these questions in the US context with longitudinal data from the 1983 to 2019 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, which provides information on residential locations, locations of family members, and adverse life events for individuals over time. We focus on five specific events: divorce, the death of a spouse, involuntary job loss, the onset of a chronic physical health condition, and the onset of a chronic mental health condition. Using multivariate regression, we find that divorce and job loss induce long-distance moves, especially return moves and moves towards family. Chronic physical conditions deter moving in general but increase the chances of return moves (after a period of time) and moves towards family. These results have implications for understanding migration as a response to adverse life events, both immediately and over time.

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Contact restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to the rapid expansion of remote work. With this expansion, new opportunities arise for the typical migrant-sending countries in Central and Eastern Europe to remotely involve their diaspora in their labor market. The aim of this paper is, by using the case study of Latvia, to show the potential of cross-border remote work for alleviating human capital losses caused by emigration. We assess the main obstacles and necessary adjustments in taxes, social benefits, labor market regulation and other areas to facilitate the labor market transition and show what incentives the country can use to become a place of choice for performing remote work for the diaspora. Combining the perspectives of employers, employees and the government, this study sheds new light on the challenges and opportunities related to the rise of remote work for countries suffering from emigration. The comprehensive analysis builds on triangulating secondary data, analysis of policy documents, a survey of employers, as well as a survey and in-depth interviews with cross-border remote workers.

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Although growing research has emphasized the critical importance of studying returns for understanding various aspects of migration processes, knowledge regarding return migrants' fertility behaviors remains limited. This study addresses this knowledge gap by comparing rates of first births and completed fertility among three groups: nonmigrants (at origin), migrants, and return migrants. Using extensive data collected both in the home regions and at destination, we analyze female migration from Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Réunion Island to metropolitan France (European France). We find intermediate fertility behaviors for return migrants relative to nonmigrants and migrants: on average, completed fertility levels are lower among return migrants than nonmigrants but slightly higher among return migrants than migrants. Some of these differences can be attributed to selection into migration and return, although significant gaps persist among women with similar socioeconomic characteristics. Our findings highlight three key observations. First, when migrants return before beginning childbearing, their transition to motherhood closely resembles that of nonmigrants with similar characteristics. Second, the lower fertility rates among prospective return migrants indicate an anticipation of disruption effects. Finally, reduced fertility while residing in metropolitan France translates into lower completed fertility rates for return migrants.

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Becoming elderly is an intrinsic part of life, and the burden of disease increases with age. However, the early life migration experience and occupational hazards at the destination can lead to serious health problems later in life. This study aims to understand the association between early life migration and the health and risky behavior of elderly return migrants using data from the Kerala Migration Survey in 2018. The results of bivariate and multivariate analyses show that the majority of migrants return due to retirement and ill health at the average age of 51 and suffer from poor health and multiple diseases. More than half (55%) of elderly returnees reported poor health, and among them, 70% have at least one chronic disease. The early life migration experience and injuries at the destination are the main determinants of poor self-rated health and chronic disease. Furthermore, elderly return migrants have high-risk health behaviours such as smoking and alcohol consumption, as well as less access to health schemes. Despite some shortcomings, this study identifies the most vulnerable groups among the elderly and their health characteristics. This will help to promote healthy aging in Kerala, India, or areas with increasing numbers of elderly and return migrants around the world.

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The migrant mortality advantage (MMA) has been observed in many immigrant-receiving countries, but its underlying factors remain poorly understood. This article examines the role of return migration selection effects in explaining the MMA among males aged 65+ using a rich, unique dataset from France. This dataset contains information on native-born and foreign-born pensioners who are tracked worldwide until they die, providing a rare opportunity to assess return migration selection effects and their impact on the MMA. Results provide evidence of substantial and systematic negative return migration selection among foreign-born males in France. Old-age returns, in particular, appear particularly affected by such selection; however, they are not frequent enough to explain the MMA at ages 65+. By contrast, returns at younger ages are much more frequent, and the MMA at ages 65+ essentially disappears once these earlier returns are considered. This study extends the literature on negative selection at return and its impact on the MMA by providing evidence that such negative selection may operate not only at older ages but throughout the life course, with impacts on the MMA that are larger than previously suggested.

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Background: Return migration, the process of migrants returning to their countries of origin, is a vital aspect of migration that has received growing attention in recent years. One area of focus in the study of return migration is understanding the motivations that drive migrants to return home. Conducting a regional literature review on the dynamics and factors influencing return migration can provide valuable insights into this complex and dynamic phenomenon. It can inform policy development, help to address economic and social issues and contribute to our understanding of migration patterns and trends in the region. Purpose: This study, therefore, aims to understand the dynamics and factors that influence return migration to Sub-Saharan Africa, a region that has experienced significant outflows of migration over the past few decades. This study provides an understanding of the drivers of and barriers to return migration and how far they resonate with factors of mobility and immobility. Methods: A two-decade systematic literature review was conducted to determine the driving factors and barriers that influence return migration to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Multivariate factors of return migration were examined based on the central question: why do migrants return to their homeland? The multiple-step systematic literature search covers a broad range of factors of return migration to sub-Saharan Africa. Result: The findings indicate complex scenarios influencing decisions to return to the region, with the interplay of driving factors as well as barriers to return. Social, personal, economic, and policy factors were among the major drivers of return migration, but social and personal drivers were found to be the major motivating factors of decisions to return to SSA, compared to policy and economic issues. The observed drivers and barriers to returning migration in SSA were categorized and discussed under thematic sections considering structural, individual and policy issues. Conclusion: The study concludes that migrants' decisions to return could be determined by numerous structural factors, such as economic, political, social and environmental circumstances, both at the place of origin and at the destination. Therefore, the review could be a useful contribution to future research, governments, mobility-oriented organizations and policymakers for effective return-migration strategies.

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The presence of Africans in Chinese cities has made their healthcare-related issues an expanding area of interest. However, previous studies have not thoroughly explored how Africans live through health problems. This article explores the taken for granted aspect using the analytical frameworks of migration as a social determinant of health and phenomenological sociology. Based on interviews with 37 Nigerians in Guangzhou city, it describes how health and illnesses are lived and the ways that language barrier, cost of health care, immigration status and racism and discrimination intertwine with quotidian occurrences to shape the experiences of health challenges. Migrant networks and community structure provided critical assistance, but the context of labour circumstances and undocumentedness can overstretch these critical sources of support. The article exposes how the broader context of being and living in China determine how Africans experience health challenges in Chinese cities.

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The establishment of free mobility in Europe has lowered barriers to movement and given rise to diversity in migration and integration patterns. However, in part due to data constraints, it is difficult to study migration motives, integration and return migration together. Using linked Finnish and Swedish register data covering the period 1988-2005, we address these processes within the same framework and study how the reason for migration and trajectories at the destination relate to return migration. In particular, we assess the migration motives of 13,948 Finnish migrants in Sweden using pre- and post-migration information. Finland and Sweden have been part of the common Nordic labour market since 1954, which has allowed Nordic citizens to move without barriers between the two countries. We also study how income trajectories and trajectories of family formation differ across the assessed motives, and analyse how return migration risks are shaped by the motive and by trajectories of income and family formation. Results reveal that labour and tied migrants are initially more likely to have family abroad than student migrants. Student migrants instead continue their education and experience a steeper income increase. The income of student migrants eventually catches up and surpasses that of labour migrants. Return migration risks are shaped by trajectories at the destination, but also by the initial migration motive. These findings underline the importance of assessing diversity across migrants to gain a better understanding of how different migrant groups fare in the destination country and how this relates to subsequent moves.

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Considerable wealth stratification exists between U.S.-born and foreign-born populations (Campbell and Kaufman 2006), with low wealth attainment documented among Mexican immigrants (Hao 2007). High rates of Mexican return migration (Azose and Raftery 2019) suggest that nonrandom selection into return migration on wealth is a potential driver of stratification. Existing theories do not conclusively predict asset accumulation among returnees versus stayers, and empirical research on return migration and wealth stratification is scarce. Combining data from the 2000 U.S. Health and Retirement Study and the 2001 Mexican Health and Aging Study to create a novel data set representing all Mexicans aged 50 and older with a history of migration to the United States and adopting a life course perspective, I find that return migration at younger and older ages is associated with higher wealth accumulation and might be a way to maximize assets at older ages. Thus, return migration may contribute to nativity-based wealth stratification in the United States. The study's findings point to the greater financial risks for new cohorts of immigrants aging in place, suggest caution in interpreting wealth stratification as a measure of mobility, and inform theories about the links between return migration and wealth across the life course.

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This paper examines counterurban migration among young families with children in Sweden and the extent to which these moves reflect return migration, recognising the role of family members and family roots at the destination from a life course perspective. Drawing on register data for all young families with children leaving the Swedish metropolitan areas during the years 2003-2013, we analyse the pattern of counterurban moves and explore how the families' socioeconomic characteristics, childhood origins, and links to family networks are associated with becoming a counterurban mover and choice of destination. The results show that four out of ten counterurban movers are former urban movers who choose to return to their home region. Among them, almost all have family at the destination, indicating that family ties are important for counterurban migration. In general, urban residents with a background outside metropolitan areas are much more likely to become counterurban movers. Families' previous residential experiences during childhood, particularly in rural areas, are found to be associated with the residential environment they choose to resettle in when leaving the big city. Counterurban movers making a return move are similar to other counterurban movers in relation to employment status, but tend to be better off economically and move longer distances than other counterurban movers.

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East-West migration has become a dominant spatial phenomenon in Europe since the step-by-step enlargement of the EU, posing considerable socio-economic and demographic challenges for sending countries. However, little is known about the geopolitics and motivations that inspire a return to the country of origin. The objective of this article is to identify the motivations for emigration, adaptation experiences and decisions of Hungarian migrants who worked in the West for a period of time and returned to Hungary, based on their skills and family status before their return. The research is based on in-depth interviews with 48 returnees and builds on the cultural identity model and the notion of ontological security. The study demonstrates the growing role of geopolitics in return migration, although its relevance differs in various groups, with clear distinctions between the high- and low-skilled migrants. The role of family as a geopolitical unit is increasing; factors like their endeavour to hold the family together, fear of children's assimilation, loss of identity and uncertainty while abroad are important in shaping decisions to return. On the other hand, schemes to enhance the return migration of the highly skilled also build on geopolitical and nationalistic rhetoric, which appear to target experiences of ontological (in)security among migrants.

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The recent geo-politicisation of return migration warrants deep consideration of the politics of return and reintegration. A focus on geopolitics prefigures the study of reintegration not just as circumstantial to the lives of migrants or the formal strategies of states but also as deeply embedded in the historical socio-cultural and political contexts where it takes place. In introducing a set of papers that explore these links from different angles and based on research from around the world, this article argues that return and reintegration constitute a qualitatively different process from immigration and integration in the receiving countries, first and foremost because the sending state-a key actor in the reintegration process-is in a position of geopolitical power marginality. Indeed, the strategies of all the stakeholders implicated in reintegration are closely linked to the geopolitics of migration governance. In these contexts, migrants' intimate, as well as pragmatic, strategies of reintegration and re-migration are an expression, as well as a trigger, of multi-scale geopolitics. There is a distinct contrast between the emphasis on borders and securitisation in high-income countries and the informality and precarity of the way that migrants have to manage their ontological security in the process of return and reintegration. Reintegration should thus be understood as a process contingent upon different and, often, incongruous legal, political and socio-economic elements, as endorsed and employed by the different stakeholders involved.

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When emigrant families return-migrate to their homeland, what happens to their school-age children? What challenges do these children face when they switch to a different school system and language? This paper addresses these questions in the context of family return migration to Latvia, based on 40 in-depth interviews with children, their parents and key informants - teachers, school support staff and return-migration coordinators. We find that imaginings of a smooth reintegration into a parental homeland of extended family and friends may not be realised; instead, many children, particularly those of secondary and upper primary-school age, experience the move as a rupture in their lives. School may be fraught with unrealistic expectations on all sides, not helped by poor communication between parents, teachers and support staff. The lack of fluency in the Latvian language is seen by teachers as an obstacle, rather than something to be accepted and worked with. Most teachers are unfamiliar with children from different backgrounds and origins and need training in diversity, tolerance and differentiated learning. This will become increasingly necessary in a country like Latvia, with its ongoing high rates of international migration and return. Our findings show that the educational system and children's experiences of schooling play a crucial role in returnee families' overall reintegration. This raises the importance of return preparedness for the children, including language preparation and awareness of pedagogical and curriculum differences.

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This paper explores the range of experiences of "voluntary" return to Ghana, based on the different positionalities of migrants set against migration and return regimes and broader socio-economic inequalities. The cases illustrate how geopolitical relations shape migrants' mobilities, highlighting the unequal relations between different actors in the countries of origin and destination; primarily these are the migrants, their relatives, and communities of origin. Conflicting interests and expectations of these actors, as much as differing return policies, create unequal options and expectations of mobility. Migrant journeys, regardless the age, gender, legal status or social class, are always geopolitical journeys. The diverging experiences of return, thus, depend not only on the individual situations, but also on the broader politicized relations and interests between stakeholders in the migration and return processes.

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Returnee entrepreneurs are often represented in migration and development discourses as agents of development. This assumes that they acquire valuable socio-economic resources abroad which help them to create successful businesses upon return. However, we have scant knowledge of the impact of the geopolitical context on returnee entrepreneurs or their coping strategies. Latin American returnees in particular have received little attention and few studies focus on migrants with 'South-to-South' return trajectories. Emphasising the role of territorial conflicts and the agency of individuals, I use a feminist geopolitical perspective to address these gaps. I contribute to migration, mobility, and development studies by studying whether Colombian migrants returning from Venezuela can reintegrate as successful entrepreneurs. Further, I offer the concept of transmobilities to study the cross-border nature of strategies of reintegration. The 30 returnees studied have a trajectory of repeated forced mobilities, ranging from internal displacement in Colombia, subsequent emigration to Venezuela, and final deportation to Colombia by Venezuela's government. I combine the qualitative methods of multi-sited ethnography, biographical interviews, mental maps, and participatory Minga workshops. The analysis shows that Colombian returnees face intense difficulties in reintegrating despite their strong motivation and entrepreneurial spirit. The geopolitical context of armed struggle, an absent Colombian state, and territorial conflicts between Colombia and Venezuela create an unfavourable environment for returnee entrepreneurs. Consequently, they develop transmobility strategies - including the movement of people, goods, and capital across national borders - at the risk of their own lives. The simplistic discourse of returnees as agents of development needs to be revised.

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AIM@#This study aims to explore the reintegration experiences of returning migrant healthcare workers in the Philippines.@*BACKGROUND@#Return migration and reintegration of healthcare labor force is a relevant part of the migration process valuable in the improvement of human capital in source countries through transfer of knowledge and skills. However, this research field has received little attention in terms of policy, program, and research development. Hence, there is a paucity of information in the Philippines describing the reintegration experiences of returning migrant healthcare workers despite its maturity in health worker migration.@*METHODS@# A qualitative case study approach was utilized in this study. Initially, an online literature review of electronic databases and grey literature regarding reintegration of migrant workers in the Philippines was performed. This was followed by online in- depth interviews among purposively selected potential, current, or returning nurses, rehabilitation therapists, and caregiver health worker migrants through Zoom web conferencing platform. Government, private, and non-government institutions involved in the migration of health workers were also invited to participate in online focus group discussions and key informant interviews. An inductive content analysis using matrices was utilized to determine relevant descriptive codes, categories, and themes.@*RESULTS@#Return migration and reintegration is perceived as an uncommon phenomenon among healthcare worker migrants. Nonetheless, motivations and grounds of opting to return and reintegrate in the Philippines can mostly be due to personal reasons or entrepreneurial aspirations. Upon return, they successfully held teaching and training positions, engaged in business through specialized clinics, or established professional associations. There was largely a perceived lack of awareness of government efforts on reintegration as it was felt that services and assistance were limited. Further observed restraints to return migration include lower wages in the Philippines, lack of knowledge on financial management, paucity of skills and qualifications recognition acquired overseas in their home country, and absence of professional network support. The COVID-19 pandemic also positively or negatively influenced healthcare worker migration.@*CONCLUSION@#This study highlighted the motivations and restraints of health worker migrants in returning to reintegrate in the Philippines. The availability and deficiency in policies, programs, and services for returning migrant workers were also emphasized. In addition, the aspects and prospects of return migration and reintegration, as well as the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare worker reintegration was identified. The Philippine government and other concerned agencies need to ensure a supportive environment that will foster a positively conducive reintegration experience for returning healthcare worker migrants.

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Over recent years, with the support of international NGOs, many thousands of irregular migrants were 'returned' to West Africa from Libyan detention centres. Through extensive ethnographic fieldwork with different groups of returnees in Benin City, Nigeria, I studied the establishment and evolution of the 'returnee' identity. Making use of labelling, social identity and performativity theories, I found that the performance of the returnee identity for Western donors, researchers and the media creates opportunities for the returnees to regain respect in their communities. Emphasising the role of performativity in identity formation, I use the metaphor of a theatrical play. Initially scripted by the EU border-externalisation policies, the return-migration play has evolved to fit in local political realities. On the frontstage, returnees were adjusting to the EU counter-migration agenda, testifying about the risks of irregular migration. Backstage, however, they kept pursuing their migration aspirations, also using the returnee identity to establish themselves in the city and gain some level of political recognition.

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Novel Coronavirus disease and the resulting lockdown has created a unique situation of involuntary return migration among labourers in India. It provided a stage for conducting a retrospective study to analyse determinants of return behaviour among internal migrants upon their return. The aim of the paper is to carry out an empirical verification of socio-economic profile of migrant workers, information about destination, determinants of return migration, and future aspirations of the return migrants. Based on a telephonic semi-structured open-ended questionnaire-based survey conducted in February and March 2021 among 238 non-returnees and return migrants of Sonitpur District of Assam, we found that four states from South India, namely-Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, are the most attractive destinations for migrants from Sonitpur. The bulk of the migrants are young, unmarried men with minimal education, and majority come from households with no cultivable land. About 30% of the returnees went back to their previous destinations within a year, while a sizable portion of non-returnees are willing to return. Not all migrants returned home during pandemic. After controlling for all variables, it was revealed that the percentage of income sent as remittances, the availability of a job card by migrants' households, status of family migration, income, and the number of working days per week are all significantly related to migrants' decision to return. We suggest a hypothesis based on the observations that during times of crisis, migrants with other economic options at sources, such as a job card, are more likely to return.