- Understand return in the context of migration and the importance of managing return migration
- Understand the main issues concerning the return and reintegration of migrants from the perspective of host countries, transit countries and countries of origin
- Understand what sustainable reintegration is, and how it can be facilitated
- Understand how vulnerability of migrants can be addressed throughout the whole return and reintegration process
- Understand the interlinkages of return migration with other issues in migration management, including development, cross-border management and return and reintegration in complex environment
Summary
Learning Objective
Learning objectives
Introduction
Return in the context of migration
Return is an integral component of human mobility.
Glossary
return
… the act or process of going back or being taken back to the point of departure. This could be within the territorial boundaries of a country, as in the case of returning internally displaced persons (IDPs) …; or between a country of destination or transit and a country of origin, as in the case of migrant workers, refugees, or asylum seekers.
Although the term “host country” is generally best avoided, as it may imply a particular relationship between migrants (“guests”) and natives (“hosts”) which may be misleading and could undermine the integration of migrants (IOM, 2019), it is used in this chapter. This is to avoid confusion, given the country of destination in a return migration trip is the country of origin.
Migration today is not a linear phenomenon starting with emigration and ending with permanent settlement in a new country. Rather, migration is increasingly multi-directional, frequently involving return to countries of origin for short or long periods of stay, often followed by back and forth movement between two or more countries, or migration onward to new destinations.
Return migration, like all migration, is complex. However, it is by no means exceptional: when people leave their country, they very often expect to return at some point. This is often the case for people who migrate for education, work or related reasons. But it is even more likely the case in situations of forced migration. In such situations, people usually plan to return when things improve (King, 2000; OHCHR, 2001).
For some migrants, return never happens (Carling, 2015). Some migrants may plan to return once the situation improves in the country of origin, which does not happen. Others may link their plan to return to fulfilling a specific objective (such as saving enough money), and do not fulfil it. Yet others may lack the means to finance the return journey and start a new life back at home. The desire to return home may also be influenced by ties to the country of origin growing weaker, or by greater economic opportunities in the host country.
However, many migrants do return, under a variety of different circumstances. These returns affect the returnees themselves, their families, their communities and societies in general. The topic of return is receiving increased interest from host and transit countries, as well as from countries of origin (Debnath, 2016). With the growing internationalization of migration and rapid changes to many countries’ development and migratory patterns, countries that have historically been countries of emigration are now often also countries through which migrants transit or to which they migrate. This means that return and reintegration is no longer the concern of only a limited number of countries or regions and has become a policy priority for the migration governance and development strategies of many governments worldwide.
This chapter focuses on return in the context of international migration. As such, it does not address the return of refugees and IDPs.
The importance of managing return
Return migration may be organized by migrants themselves or by States. In both cases, return migration is governed by frameworks and regulations under international and national law that describe specific roles and obligations for States and for migrants.
The right to reurn to one’s country is an important right for migrants, and States are obliged to allow their nationals to return (further details about in International law and principles, in this chapter).
At the same time, return and reintegration is often a challenge:
- For transit countries and countries of destination (or host countries), return is an important means of exercising the sovereign right to determine who can enter and remain on their territory, although limited by the principle of non-refoulement (see more about Protection against refoulement. But returning migrants to their country of origin against their will is one of the most controversial actions a State can undertake to manage migration (Newland and Salant, 2018).
- For countries of origin, the return of migrants can have critical financial, humanitarian, security and development implications (Newland and Salant, 2018). Return can add significant stress to a society and its economy, especially when large numbers of returnees arrive over a short period of time (further details in Perspective of host countries, transit countries and countries of origin in this chapter).
- For migrants, readapting and rebuilding one’s life after return may be a struggle, due to economic, social, and psychosocial factors that are often similar to the factors that prompted migration in the first place.
Because of its impact on migrants and societies in host countries, transit countries, and countries of origin, return migration is a key issue on the agenda of policymakers around the world.
Migration management includes policies covering a broad range of return related areas, including return, readmission and reintegration.Given the transnational nature of return, managing it requires the cooperation of States involved and benefits from the participation of a broad range of actors, including the migrants and civil society. If managed well, the return of migrants can have positive outcomes, such as improved living conditions for migrants or contribution to development in countries of origin (further details in Perspective of host countries, transit countries and countries of origin in this chapter).
Key data sources
Return migration is hard to quantify, because comprehensive global data on return migration is not available (Newland and Salant, 2018). The reasons for this include:
- Many migrants return without any State involvement and are not recorded;
- Even in cases where States assist or enforce return migration, data are not always collected or published;
- Data that are collected are scattered across different sources;
- Data sets are often incomplete or are not comparable, especially when different definitions are used.
The following data sources provide some insight on returns.
National sources
Data on return are usually collected by national and international statistical offices, border protection and immigration law enforcement agencies.
In countries with comprehensive registration policies, national statistical offices may provide data on the number of persons who have registered their permanent change of address from the country of their previous residence to the country of origin.
International sources
- Global Migration Data Portal. Managed and developed by the IOM Global Migration Data Analysis Centre (GMDAC), the portal includes information on recent trends regarding return per region. It also offers analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of available data sources.
- Global Trends in Forced Migration. In its annual report, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) provides statistical data and background information on the return of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).
- Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM). DTM is an IOM system that tracks and monitors displacement and population mobility, as well as the evolving needs of displaced populations. It also captures returnee figures, return intentions, displacement solutions, community perceptions, and so on.
- Return and Reintegration Highlights. On a yearly basis, IOM releases a report that provides a broad overview of the Organization’s return and reintegration trends, developments and activities, with statistical summaries by region and by country.
At a regional level, some sources collect and publish data on return migration. See, for instance, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation (OECD) annual International Migration Outlook report, which presents data collected by the Continuous Reporting System on International Migration (SOPEMI). Or, for the Americas, see the Continuous Reporting System on International Migration in the Americas (SICREMI).
More information on key sources of data, research and analysis can be found in Stage 2: Data, research and analysis for policymaking.
International instruments, initiatives and dialogues
International law and principles
The international norms and principles relevant to return and reintegration are provided by several different branches of international law, including human rights law, refugee law, humanitarian law, transnational criminal law and international labour law.
States have the sovereign right to determine who may enter and remain on their territory, without prejudice to relevant international law provisions and standards, including the principle of non-refoulement.
Glossary
The principle of non-refoulement has its origins in international refugee law. However, its scope has been extended to all migrants. Protection against refoulement is guaranteed by various instruments at the international and regional level (see details on Protection against refoulement and other obligations of States on Civil and Political Rights, and their impact on migration management in Specific rights as relevant in the context of migration)
Additionally, different international instruments establish safeguards for returnees whereby collective expulsion from host countries is prohibited (OHCHR, 2006).
In turn, countries of origin are duty bound to grant the right to return and to admit and readmit their nationals. They cannot compel any other State to keep their nationals through measures such as denationalization (UNHCR, 1996; Hailbronner, 1997; Giuffré, 2015).
The right to return to one’s own country is guaranteed by various international human rights instruments which are binding to the governments that have signed them.
List
| Global instruments |
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Note: This list is not exhaustive.
Other relevant migrant rights in the context of return include, but are not limited to:
- The right to leave any country;
- The right to respect for private and family life;
- Relevant rights of the child, including the principle of the best interests of the child.
Regional instruments
Some regional instruments include provisions on the right to return.
List
| Regional instruments with provisions prohibiting refoulement |
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| Regional instruments interpreted to prohibit refoulement |
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Note: This list is not exhaustive.
Some specific instruments define regional standards for return, such as the European Union Directive on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals (2008).
There are numerous political declarations and statements of governments committing or re-committing themselves to cooperation on returns as established in regional agreements in various ways. For instance, the Khartoum Declaration on cooperation between the EU and Khartoum process countries, commits signatories to help improve national capacity in all components of migration management and to address irregular migration, including through cooperation on return, in particular voluntary return, and readmission (IOM, 2017a). Additionally, many regional consultative processes on migration, such as the Budapest and Bali Processes, have readmission as a standing item on their agenda (read more in below, in Inter State policy dialogues).
To Go Further
- Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights at International Borders, 2014. See Guideline 9 on human-rights based return or removal.
- OHCHR and Global Migration Group (GMG), Principles and Guidelines, Supported by Practical Guidance, on the Human Rights Protection of Migrants in Vulnerable Situations, 2018, and the related Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: Addendum, 2018. See principle 6 focusing on the context of return.
Initiatives and commitments
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
The “right of migrants to return to their country of citizenship” is underlined in the Agenda’s introduction, which also recalls that “States must ensure that their returning nationals are duly received”.
Return migration is primarily addressed under the overall target addressing migration (target 10.7). However, other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) also apply to returnees, especially with regard to their reintegration in their country of origin (IOM, 2018a).
SDG
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
- Target 8.3
Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services. - Target 10.2
By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status. - Target 10.7
Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies. - Target 17.17
Promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed. - Target 17.9
Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the sustainable development goals, including through North–South, South–South and triangular cooperation.
Note: This list is not exhaustive.
Read More
Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration
Objective 21 of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration commits States to “Cooperate in facilitating safe and dignified return and readmission, as well as sustainable reintegration”. Under this objective, signatories to the Global Compact for Migration agree to:
- Guarantee due process, individual assessment and effective remedy to all nationals seeking return;
- Uphold the prohibition of collective expulsion and of returning migrants when there is a real and foreseeable risk of death, torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, or other irreparable harm;
- Create conditions that will encourage personal safety, economic empowerment, inclusion and social cohesion in communities, in order to promote sustainable reintegration.
Other objectives of the Global Compact for Migration are also relevant, as they address the needs of migrants and the circumstances that impact their return and reintegration.
GCM
Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration
- Objective 1
Cooperate in facilitating safe and dignified return and readmission, as well as sustainable reintegration. Collect and utilize accurate and disaggregated data as a basis for evidence-based policies. - Objective 2
Minimize the adverse drivers and structural factors that compel people to leave their country of origin. - Objective 3(c)
Establish open and accessible information points along relevant migration routes that can refer migrants to child-sensitive and gender-responsive support and counselling, offer opportunities to communicate with consular representatives of the country of origin, and make available relevant information, including on human rights and fundamental freedoms, appropriate protection and assistance, options and pathways for regular migration, and possibilities for return, in a language the person concerned understands. - Objective 4
Ensure that all migrants have proof of legal identify and adequate documentation. - Objective 7(a)
Review relevant policies and practices to ensure they do not create, exacerbate or unintentionally increase vulnerabilities of migrants, including by applying a human rightsbased, gender- and disability-responsive, as well as an age- and child-sensitive approach. - Objective 7(f)
Protect unaccompanied and separated children at all stages of migration through the establishment of specialized procedures for their identification, referral, care and family reunification, and provide access to health care services, including mental health, education, legal assistance and the right to be heard in administrative and judicial proceedings, including by swiftly appointing a competent and impartial legal guardian, as essential means to address their particular vulnerabilities and discrimination, protect them from all forms of violence, and provide access to sustainable solutions that are in their best interests. - Objective 7(g)
Ensure migrants have access to public or affordable independent legal assistance and representation in legal proceedings that affect them, including during any related judicial or administrative hearing, in order to safeguard that all migrants, everywhere, are recognized as persons before the law and that the delivery of justice is impartial and non-discriminatory. - Objective 12(e)
Ensure that, in the context of mixed movements, relevant information on rights and obligations under national laws and procedures, including on entry and stay requirements, available forms of protection, as well as options for return and reintegration, is appropriately, timely and effectively communicated, and accessible. - Objective 13
Use immigration detention only as a measure of last resort and work towards alternatives. - Objective 18
Invest in skills development and facilitate mutual recognition of skills, qualifications and competences. - Objective 21
Cooperate in facilitating safe and dignified return and readmission, as well as sustainable reintegration.
Note: This list is not exhaustive.
Read More
List
Regional initiatives
| Regional initiatives |
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Inter-State policy dialogues
A number of Inter-State Consultation Mechanisms on Migration (ISCM), including regional consultative processes (RCPs), include return of migrants on their agendas and workplans.
List
Note: This list is not exhaustive.
Good Practice
Discussing practices, gaps and challenges to identify relevant policy approaches at the regional level
The Regional Conference on Migration (RCM), which brings together eleven States from North and Central America, has, since 2011, included assisted voluntary return and reintegration among its thematic areas.
Participating States have shared practices, gaps and challenges, which led to the formulation of Guiding principles for the development of migration policies on integration, return and reintegration of the Regional Conference on Migration as well as a Guide to develop public policies on reintegration of returned migrants. These documents have in turn helped States to develop national protocols, coordination mechanisms and other tools aimed at strengthening the reintegration process of their returning nationals.
El Salvador, for instance, has developed a country strategy on reintegration. It includes activities such as:
- A national survey on the well-being of children and young people;
- The construction and suitability of public spaces that facilitate social cohesion;
- Community development, including processes for incorporating returnees into their home communities.
Source
Biella-Battista et al., 2019.
Global forums such as the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) and the IOM International Dialogue on Migration (IDM) have also addressed return and reintegration of migrants. The Declaration of the High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development (2013) underlined the right of migrants to return to their country of citizenship, recalled that States must ensure that their returning nationals are duly received, and recognized the importance of coordinated efforts to assist and support migrants stranded in vulnerable situations.