Sustainable reintegration is intrinsically linked to the development of the country of return. An individual’s sustainable reintegration depends on various factors, including environmental and structural capacities as well as development and economic opportunities available in the country of origin. In countries where these are lacking, sustainable reintegration may be difficult or not possible at all. Also, as noted in the discussion of Reintegration after return, return can create many development-related challenges for countries of origin, in particular if a large number of people return within a short time frame and if the local community lacks the capacity to absorb them. Competition over available resources and resentments towards returnees may lead to social tensions that can hamper local development. Furthermore, returnees will cease sending back remittances to their families (if they had been doing so), which can also have an impact on the economic situation of individual households and on whole communities.
Reintegration initiatives can contribute to address these issues when they focus also on addressing local development needs. They can impact both the returnees as well as the larger community and increase the absorption capacities of countries and communities of return. Community-based interventions usually also encourage the participation of returnees and non-migrant population alike. They therefore also support social cohesion between returnees and their communities (IOM, 2017c).