There is a reason why: Baltic return migrants’ reasons for return

ABSTRACT

Return migration is increasingly recognized as a vital factor in the demographic and economic development of the Baltic countries. Despite prevalent myths about why migrants return to the Baltics, concrete evidence remains scarce. This paper examines the reasons for return migration through 62 semi-structured interviews, focusing on the contemplation and decision phases of returning. Our research reveals no singular reason for returning migration to the Baltic countries. Instead, the process is characterized by distinct contemplation and decision phases. During contemplation, return migrants weigh factors such as homesickness, integration into the host society, and pursuing a better lifestyle. The decision to return is frequently influenced by life events, including starting a family, entering a relationship, or encountering new opportunities. The study demonstrates the presence of separate contemplation and decision phases in the return process. It highlights the effectiveness of the life stages approach in comprehending the motives in the decision phase. The findings underscore that family-related reasons are more influential for Baltic return migrants than economic factors or considerations related to self-growth and their status in the host society.

KEYWORDS:

• Baltics
• return migration
• the reason for return
• life stages

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Research Program Project grantnumber VPP-IZM-2018/1-0015 and by the Latvian Council of Science, projectNo. lzp-2018/1-0486.

Notes on contributors

Kata Fredheim

Kata Fredheim is currently serving as the Executive Vice President of Partnerships and Strategy and an Associate Professor in Economics and Business at SSE Riga. She brings over fifteen years of experience in higher education partnership and strategy development, having previously headed the University of Cambridge’s International Strategy Office. As a social anthropologist, Kata’s research focuses on migration, internationalization, and higher education. Her most recent work is on Ukraine.

Zane Varpina

Zane Varpina is Faculty Advisor at Bachelor and Executive MBA programmes and teaches the Research Methods course to both our Master and Bachelor programme students, as well as Market Research in Bachelor programme. Zane is Associate Professor at SSE Riga as of 2020 and was Assistant Professor since 2013. Zane has broad researcher experience in the Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies (BICEPS).