Romanian return migration between successful reintegration and the challenge of a new migratory experience

In the last decade, return migration has taken on new dimensions as a consequence of the economic and health contexts, at the European and global levels. The return migration of Romanians is, in most cases, a component part of the initial migration project, the whole migration experience of Romanian...

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Main Authors: Despina Saghin, Daniel Lucheș, Maria-Magdalena Lupchian, Daniela Jeder
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Cogent Social Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2025.2498482
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author Despina Saghin
Daniel Lucheș
Maria-Magdalena Lupchian
Daniela Jeder
author_facet Despina Saghin
Daniel Lucheș
Maria-Magdalena Lupchian
Daniela Jeder
author_sort Despina Saghin
collection DOAJ
description In the last decade, return migration has taken on new dimensions as a consequence of the economic and health contexts, at the European and global levels. The return migration of Romanians is, in most cases, a component part of the initial migration project, the whole migration experience of Romanians being marked by strong ties with the country of origin and family. This study uses data collected through an online survey and a focus group, which targeted return migrants from Suceava County – one of the counties with the highest emigration rate in Romania. The use of these research tools aimed to identify aspects related to the motivation of remigration and the challenges of reintegration of migrants into Romanian society. The results of the survey indicate that return migration is mainly driven by non-economic reasons and corresponds, in most cases, to the initial migration project - to return permanently to the country of origin. The decrease in living standards, unemployment and restrictive local policies expose Romanians returning from abroad to a situation of high vulnerability, making their reintegration difficult, sometimes even impossible. Returning migrants represent a channel for the transmission of knowledge, professional experience, and financial capital; thus, they can be considered a potential source of growth in Romania. The difficulties of reintegration into society contribute to an increase in the degree of economic and psychosocial dissatisfaction of returning migrants, which increases their propensity to re-emigrate and considerably reduces the possibility of permanent settlement in the country of origin.
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spelling doaj-art-a8e95a588bfc49f3ab4970e2fa8b68672025-08-20T02:12:50ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Social Sciences2331-18862025-12-0111110.1080/23311886.2025.2498482Romanian return migration between successful reintegration and the challenge of a new migratory experienceDespina Saghin0Daniel Lucheș1Maria-Magdalena Lupchian2Daniela Jeder3Department of Geography, “Ștefan cel Mare” University of Suceava, Suceava, RomaniaDepartment of Sociology, West University of Timișoara, Timișoara, RomaniaDepartment of Geography, “Ștefan cel Mare” University of Suceava, Suceava, RomaniaDepartment of Education, Ștefan cel Mare” University of Suceava, Suceava, RomaniaIn the last decade, return migration has taken on new dimensions as a consequence of the economic and health contexts, at the European and global levels. The return migration of Romanians is, in most cases, a component part of the initial migration project, the whole migration experience of Romanians being marked by strong ties with the country of origin and family. This study uses data collected through an online survey and a focus group, which targeted return migrants from Suceava County – one of the counties with the highest emigration rate in Romania. The use of these research tools aimed to identify aspects related to the motivation of remigration and the challenges of reintegration of migrants into Romanian society. The results of the survey indicate that return migration is mainly driven by non-economic reasons and corresponds, in most cases, to the initial migration project - to return permanently to the country of origin. The decrease in living standards, unemployment and restrictive local policies expose Romanians returning from abroad to a situation of high vulnerability, making their reintegration difficult, sometimes even impossible. Returning migrants represent a channel for the transmission of knowledge, professional experience, and financial capital; thus, they can be considered a potential source of growth in Romania. The difficulties of reintegration into society contribute to an increase in the degree of economic and psychosocial dissatisfaction of returning migrants, which increases their propensity to re-emigrate and considerably reduces the possibility of permanent settlement in the country of origin.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2025.2498482Return migrationinitial migration projectreintegrationpermanent settlementHuman GeographySocial Geography
spellingShingle Despina Saghin
Daniel Lucheș
Maria-Magdalena Lupchian
Daniela Jeder
Romanian return migration between successful reintegration and the challenge of a new migratory experience
Cogent Social Sciences
Return migration
initial migration project
reintegration
permanent settlement
Human Geography
Social Geography
title Romanian return migration between successful reintegration and the challenge of a new migratory experience
title_full Romanian return migration between successful reintegration and the challenge of a new migratory experience
title_fullStr Romanian return migration between successful reintegration and the challenge of a new migratory experience
title_full_unstemmed Romanian return migration between successful reintegration and the challenge of a new migratory experience
title_short Romanian return migration between successful reintegration and the challenge of a new migratory experience
title_sort romanian return migration between successful reintegration and the challenge of a new migratory experience
topic Return migration
initial migration project
reintegration
permanent settlement
Human Geography
Social Geography
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2025.2498482
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