Return, adaptation, and transnational relations among Estonian citizens returned from Finland

ABSTRACT

A growth in return migration has prompted increasing inquiries into its effects on the countries of origin and the adaptation of returning migrants. This article studies the return, adaptation, and transnational relations among Estonian citizens returned from Finland. The material derives from interviews of 41 Estonian speakers and 19 Russian speakers who returned to Estonia. Many migrants made the actual return decision rather rapidly. Overall, most returned migrants adapted easily to Estonia. Most returned to work and had intensive social networks in Estonia. They maintained contact with Finland but often mainly with Estonians living there. Only a few consider onward migration.

KEYWORDS:

• Return migration
• Estonia
• Finland
• adaptation
• reintegration
• transnational relations
• social media
• Russian-speakers

Acknowledgments

Dr. Ingmar Pastak, LLM Kersti Jauhiainen, MSc Hardi Heinvere, Mr. Kaur-Markus Mirka, and Mr Bernard Raafael Niitra are acknowledged for their assistance in organizing the material and the interviews.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Kone Foundation under Grant “Suomen Sillat 3.0.”

Notes on contributors

Jussi S. Jauhiainen

Jussi S. Jauhiainen is a Professor at the University of Turku (Finland) and Visiting Professor at the University of Tartu (Estonia). His main research interests include innovations, the Metaverse, generative AI, Estonia, and migration.

Selma Smolander

Selma Smolander is a research assistant at the University of Turku. Her main research interest are on urban development and migration.