Who are Returnee Migrant Workers?

When I first began working on the topic of Return and Reintegration of Returnee Migrant Workers, I was keen to develop a better understanding of returnee migrants and returnee migrant workers. The project I am working on focuses on migrant workers from Nepal who migrate for work, primarily to the Gulf and Malaysia on temporary assignments, and return to Nepal upon completion of their (typically) two-year employment contracts. The idea of the project is to support the Government of Nepal to have enough systems, structures and opportunities in place at home so that returning migrants do not feel compelled to re-migrate out of desperation or distress.

#returneemigrantworkers are the least understood of all sub-set of migrants along the migration cycle. Those of us working in the sphere of #migrationanddevelopment have a comparatively limited understanding of the the typical characteristics of a returnee migrant workers, and what factors influencing an individual’s decisions to return, re-migrate or reintegrate at home.

One of the first tasks I did with my team on the ReMi project is to brainstorm the different characteristics of a returnee migrant worker (depicted in the diagram here), and what we came up with was an extremely complex profile with varied and diverse backgrounds, compounded by their (positive or negative) migration experiences and where each factor directly influences their return and reintegration outcome.

In my opinion, the group of returnee migrants are far more complex and multi-layered personalities than prospective migrant workers given the multiple variables (both in country of destination and at home) that affect their migration journeys and return experience. In this article I try to provide some surface level insight into the complexities of returnee migrant workers.

Below I will discuss each of the characteristics we identified, and how it could affect the return and reintegration outcomes:

a.????? Age of Returnee: In our work, we have been speaking of returnees who return having a re-migration mindset or a reintegration mindset. In our observations, person below the age of 30 usually have a re-migration mindset – they are still young and healthy with limited obligations at home (i.e. may not be married, parents still young and healthy).

Those between age of 30-45 may be tempted to reintegrate and be closer to their families, often with young children, but still are able-bodied and are able to endure hard work. So they may also be tempted to re-migrate to provide a better future for their children.

In our field observations, we find that persons above the age of 40 are most likely to have a re-integration mind-set for a few reasons, including: (i) they may have developed health issues and are no longer able to manage intensive physical labor or do not pass the required medical examinations, (ii) they may have family emergencies or obligations for which they are required to stay closer to home (aging parents, grown children, etc), (iii) unable to secure new foreign employment.

b.????? Marital Status: As you could imagine, if a migrant is happily married with their spouse and children back home, then they are more likely to be drawn to reintegrate and stay with family. If they are not-yet-married, they may continue to re-migrate. And if they have family disputes, they may be inclined to escape the situation at home and re-migrate.

c.????? Duration Abroad: The duration of time spent abroad may make a difference on how well a migrant can reconnect with their friends, family members and community networks upon return. Naturally, the longer one is abroad, the more disconnected they may be to support networks at home, making it more difficult for returnees to find employment at home and leading to feelings of loneliness and isolation. This distance with family and social networks at home could prompt returnees to consider re-migrating.

d.????? Financial Status (savings, no savings, debt): As expected the financial status upon return has a significant impact on their mind-set upon return. Having sufficient savings may provide the returnee with the stability to re-establish themselves at home – either to start a small enterprise or simply as a financial safety net. Despite having an overall successful migration experience, some returnees may return with little or no savings, having spent their income for household needs, building a house, children’s educations or other priorities. In these cases, should the migrant is able to sustain a steady household income and meet family expenses, they may be inclined to reintegrate. However, the continued inability to cover household expenses may have them considering re-migration. Finally, if the migrant and their family face continued indebtedness post-return, then are likely to be desperate to re-migrate.

e.????? Involuntary/interrupted vs. voluntary return: Involuntary or interrupted return usually occurs in the event of a natural disaster or conflict at country of destination, sudden loss of employment, personal or family injury or emergency, or breach with the law, often leading to deportation. In all of these situation, irrespective of the skills of the worker or quality of employment, the return is unplanned and the migrant is unable to meet their objectives. They may have accrued debts both at home and/or at destination, they may have incomplete projects, continued medical issues, and more – all of which result in a particularly complicated return and reintegration experience.

f.??????? Foreign Employment job category: Broadly generalized as low-skilled (laborers or domestic workers – no skills certificate required), higher-skilled (requiring skills certificate) or professional (management positions, may require university qualifications) employment categories , the job category of the returnee migrant worker would impact their return experience. Based on our observations, migrants who work in low-skilled jobs often have rushed or unplanned departures, face high indebtedness, may have had dodgy recruitment processes, and overall experience higher job precariousness at country of destination. Therefore, upon return, they often face continued indebtedness, may have health or physical difficulties, and overall negative foreign employment experience which leads to difficulties to face family at home and overall complicated reintegration experience. Higher-skilled and professional migrants often are better prepared at the point of departure, are employed at more stable and secure companies (with social and welfare benefits), earn higher wages, and have clear migration objectives – all of which lead to a smoother return and reintegration process.

g.????? Pre-existing skills and qualifications – As with above, having pre-existing skills and qualifications are usually an indicator of obtaining higher-skilled or professional employment at destination, leading to an overall more successful migration journey. Having pre-existing skills, together with their newly acquired foreign employment work experience, may also facilitate securing stable employment at home upon return.

h.????? Country of Destination (e.g. GCC, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, Europe): Different countries of destination have different laws and regulations for migrant workers. For example, the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), are notorious for having highly regulated and strict working and living environment , with limited freedoms and rights for foreign workers. Malaysia frequently attracts lower skilled migrant workers in more precarious working environments. South Korea follows a highly selective and regulated recruitment process, leading foreign workers to be generally working in semi- or higher-skilled jobs. Furthermore, in South Korea, employers are required to obtain Departure Guarantee Insurance for foreign workers who work at least one-year which is used to pay a gratuity to an employee who is leaving. Based on the country of destination, the better the benefits and employment stability at country of destination, the smoother the return and reintegration experience.

i.??????? Social Issues, discrimination at home : Irrespective of the foreign employment experience, facing social discrimination, (domestic) violence, or other threats at home would compel returnee migrants to continuously seek re-migration for safety and as an escape.

These just begin to scratch the surface of the complexities of a migrant worker returning home – each sub-topic warrants a thesis of its own. We as practitioners attempting to address the needs of returning migrant workers, and in attempting to create an enabling environment to facilitate their reintegration at home should be aware and cognizant of these different and varied experiences. Thoughtful consideration of these numerous and varied influencing factors is required to better address their needs in a meaningful way.