Migration is often conceived as a process that involves assuming various losses and requires adaptation to a new context. Among the expectations when leaving for our destination are the challenges that are expected to be overcome.

The return to the place of origin, which sometimes is part of the migratory cycle, usually catches us more unaware , since considering that one returns to a point in which one has already been, a significant adaptation process is not considered necessary. This assumption does not take into account that the place of origin, its people and above all the migrant himself, have suffered deep transformations during the journey. The changing conditions of the return allow then to consider the return as a second migration.

Return as a second migration

The emotional implications of return migration can sometimes be even more shocking than those of the first migration.

The feeling of strangeness and incompetence with respect to the place we considered as our own, can be a source of great confusion and uncertainty. The psychological effects of return migration have been conceptualized under the name of reverse culture shock .

Economic crisis and emigration

Reflection and research on the issue of return has intensified in recent times due to the migration dynamics that have emerged or increased as a result of the global economic crisis of 2007. The deterioration of the economy and the consequent increase in unemployment in the countries receiving migration has had a much greater impact on the migrant population, which also does not have the recourse to family support to which the local people have access .

The crisis has also led to an increase in social hostility towards this population, which is used as a scapegoat for many of the system’s ills. At the same time, there is sometimes a perception that conditions in the context of origin may have improved, becoming factors that influence many more migrants to make the decision to return to their country of origin.

Return Statistics

Statistically, the return occurs in greater proportions in men and in people with low qualifications . Women and qualified professionals tend to settle more at the destination. It is also observed that the shorter the distance travelled in migration, the greater the likelihood of return.

Among the motivations for return are those related to the economic sphere, such as unemployment or precarious employment in the place of destination; family motivations consisting, for example, of parents who have grown older and need attention or the desire to provide children entering adolescence with an environment that is more controlled or in line with the values of the context of origin. Difficulties in adjusting to the host environment and discrimination may also be reasons for return.

Research highlights that the longer the stay and the greater the cultural differentiation at the destination, the greater the difficulties of adaptation in return migration . It is highlighted that the circumstances and expectations surrounding our migration, in addition to the particularities of the experience during the stay, substantially influence the way in which the return or returns to the place of origin are experienced.

Different ways to leave and return

There are different ways to experience the return. Here are some of them.

The desired return

For many people, migration is considered as a means to achieve more or less concrete objectives , which imply a duration of time, sometimes determined and sometimes indefinite. The starting point is the expectation and desire that once these objectives are achieved, people will return to their place of origin to enjoy the achievements made during the journey.

The objectives can be varied: to pursue an academic specialization, a temporary job of determined duration, to save money to provide sufficient capital to carry out some enterprise or to buy a house. Sometimes migration is motivated by negative aspects in the place of origin, such as job insecurity or precariousness, and then a temporary migration is considered while these conditions are modified or improved. Migration can also be seen as a respite from accumulating experiences and experiences for a defined period of time.

In those cases where the idea of return is very present from the beginning, there is usually a strong appreciation of and identification with the customs and traditions of the country of origin. Such traditions seek to be recreated in the host country and it is usual that social ties with expatriate compatriots are prioritized. Parallel to the above, there may be resistance to integration or full assimilation with the destination culture . It is also common for people who have a strong desire to return to have a high appreciation of the family and social ties in the country of origin, which they try to continue to maintain and nurture despite the distance.

The return in many cases is then the logical consequence of the migratory project: the foreseen academic or working periods are fulfilled, the proposed economic or experiential objectives are valued as having been fulfilled to a certain degree. In these cases the decision to return is usually lived with a high degree of autonomy and not as a passive consequence of external circumstances. There is usually a period of preparation, which allows the expectations to be adjusted to what can be found on the return. The achievements of the trip are also recognized, as well as the benefits they can bring to the new life in the country of origin.

The support that can be obtained from the social and family networks that have continued to be maintained during the trip is also valued. All these aspects have a positive impact on the adaptation on the return, but they do not exempt from difficulties, since although it is possible to return to the physical place, it is impossible to return to the imagined place to which one thought one belonged.

The mythical return

Sometimes the initial expectations and objectives are transformed ; it may not be perceived that the proposed objectives have been met or that the hostile conditions that motivated the migration have not improved. Perhaps also, with the passage of time, strong roots have been built up in the destination country and weakened in the country of origin. The intention to return may then be postponed for years, decades and even generations, sometimes becoming more than a concrete intention, a myth of nostalgia.

If it is perceived that the objectives have not been achieved and one has to return earlier than planned, the return may be experienced as a failure. Adaptation involves being confronted with a sense of discontent, as if something has been left unsatisfied. The immigrant can go from being a “hero” for the family and the social environment to becoming a burden for the family’s survival.

The Unexpected Return

There are people who, since their departure, consider migration as the beginning of a new life in a context of greater well-being, so in principle return is not among their plans. Others arrive with an attitude of openness waiting to see how the circumstances will unfold and decide after a while to put down roots in their destination. Others, although they arrive with the idea of returning, are presented with opportunities or discover aspects that lead them to change their minds over time. There are also migrants who remain indefinitely with the possibilities open to them without radically ruling out any option.

One of the fundamental aspects that leads people to choose to remain indefinitely in their destination is the perception that their quality of life is higher than that which they could have in their country of origin . Quality of life that is described by some migrants as better economic conditions, feeling of security on the streets, better health, education or transportation services, infrastructure, lower levels of corruption and disorganization. Also aspects related to mentality, such as the case of women who find themselves with emancipation and equality quotas that they did not enjoy in their places of origin. For others, the need to live abroad responds to inner aspects, such as the possibility of satisfying their desire for adventure and new experiences. Some migrants report that living abroad allows them to express themselves in a more genuine way away from an environment that they considered limiting.

In cases where return is no longer seen as a desirable option there is often an interest in integrating into the destination culture. This interest does not necessarily imply a distancing or rejection of one’s own culture, nor of family or social ties in the country of origin. A transnational dynamic is then generated, in which people live between the two cultures through regular travel and permanent communication. This transnational dynamic is currently facilitated by the cheapness of air travel and the communication possibilities offered by new technologies. On some occasions, the transnational dynamic has a bearing on the decline of the passion for national identity, which has become more obviously hybrid and cosmopolitan.

Seeing the place of origin with bad eyes

When there is a high valuation of various aspects that have been lived in the destination place and people are forced to return to their countries of origin, usually for family or economic reasons, the adaptation in the return becomes complex being necessary an habituation to a standard of living that is perceived as inferior in some areas. This can lead to a hypersensitivity and overestimation of the aspects that are considered negative in the place of origin. Everything can then be experienced as more precarious, disorganized and insecure than what is perceived by others who are not going through this experience of adaptation.

This hypersensitivity can generate tensions with family and friends who perceive the returnee with attitudes of unjustified contempt. The return sometimes also implies that the person has to confront questions about his/her lifestyle that is not in accordance with the predominant schemes in his/her place of origin.

It is then common for a sense of strangeness to emerge and for recognition of the distance that has been established with the original environment. This feeling leads many returnees to experience the stay in the country of origin as a transition while the conditions are in place to return to the country of their first migration or undertake a new migration to a third country.

The feeling of not being from here or there can be experienced with nostalgia by some migrants because of the loss of a national reference of identification, but it can also be lived as a liberation from schemes that constrain. In some, the syndrome of the eternal traveler is generated, who constantly seeks to satisfy his need for new experiences and curiosity in different places.

The forced return

The most adverse conditions for return obviously occur when the person wants to stay at the destination and external conditions force him or her to return. This is the case of prolonged unemployment, an illness of one’s own or a relative’s, expiration of legal residence or even deportation. In cases where economic factors have been the trigger, the person returns when all survival strategies have been exhausted.

For some people, migration has been a way of putting distance between family or social situations that are burdensome or conflictive. The return therefore implies them to leave a context that seemed more satisfactory to them and the reunion with situations and conflicts from which they sought to get away.

In cases where migration has been to leave behind a past that one wants to overcome, there is often a high motivation to fully integrate into the dynamics of the destination context, sometimes even seeking to avoid people from their own country.

In some cases then upon return there has been a distancing not only from family ties but also from friends in the place of origin, so that they cannot function as a support or resource for adaptation. The return is then lived almost as an exile that implies confronting many aspects that one would have expected to leave behind. The investigations emphasize that the adaptation in this type of return is usually the most difficult, presenting also the desire to initiate a new migration but sometimes with vague and not very elaborated plans.

The reverse culture shock

The people who return arrive at the country of their roots with the feeling of having more or less fulfilled their purposes, in other cases with feelings of frustration or sense of defeat , but always with the pressing need to give course to their lives in the existing conditions.

Reverse culture shock refers to this process of readjustment, re-socialization and re-assimilation within one’s own culture after having lived in a different culture for a significant period of time. This concept has been developed by researchers since the mid-20th century based initially on the difficulties of adaptation to the return of exchange students

Stages of reverse culture shock

Some researchers consider that the reverse culture shock starts when the return home is planned . It is observed that some people carry out some rituals with the intention of saying goodbye to their destination and begin to take actions to go back to their place of origin.

The second stage is called the honeymoon. It is characterized by the emotion of meeting family, friends and spaces that were missed. The returnee feels the satisfaction of being welcomed and recognized on their return.

The third stage is the culture shock itself and emerges when the need to establish an everyday life arises once the excitement of the reunions has passed. It is the moment when one is aware that one’s identity has been transformed and that the place one longs for and the people are not as they imagined. The protagonism of the first days or weeks is lost and people are no longer interested in hearing the stories of our journey. This can lead to feelings of loneliness and isolation. Doubts, disappointments and regrets then arise. Returnees may also feel overwhelmed by the responsibilities and choices they have to face. Sometimes the anxieties this generates can manifest themselves in irritability, insomnia, fears, phobias and psychosomatic disorders.

The final stage is adjustment and integration . In this stage the returnee mobilizes his adaptation resources to accommodate to the new circumstances and the constant longing for the country that received him disappears. The capacity to focus on the present and to work for the achievement of their vital projects is then strengthened.

The ideal is that when the returnee returns to his or her country, he or she will be aware of the enrichment that the trip has provided and the experiences that he or she has lived in the host country. Also, to develop the capacity to turn these experiences into resources for their new ventures. It is suggested that the stages are not strictly linear, but that they go through ups and downs of the soul until, little by little, a certain stability is achieved.

Bibliographic references:

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  • Díaz, J. A. J., & Valverde, J. R. (2014). An approach to definitions, typologies and theoretical frameworks of return migration. Biblio 3w: bibliographic journal of geography and social sciences.
  • Durand, J. (2004). Theoretical essay on return migration. Notebooks
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  • Motoa Florez, J. and Tinel, X. (2009) Back home? Reflections on the return of Colombian migrants in Spain. Diálogos migrantes, (4), 59-67
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  • Valenzuela, U., & Paz, D. (2015). The phenomenon of reverse culture shock an inductive study with Chilean cases.