Post-return conditions and perspectives

The level of preparedness for the return journey, as well as the individual decision to return to the origin country are key factors allowing the migrant’s post-return conditions to be better understood. The survey focused, among other things, on the migrants’ intention to stay either permanently or temporarily in the origin country, mainly concentrating on two distinct moments:

1. At the time of their return journey, 52.8% of the migrants asserted having the intention to stay permanently in their origin country. However, this number is nearly halved in the case of the migrants who were forced to return. In fact, the latter are recognizable by the relatively high percentage of hesitation (35.5%) and consider staying temporarily (36%) in the homeland (Tab. F1). Both in Morocco (Tab. F1.2) and in Tunisia (Tab. F1.3) less than 28% of the migrants who were forced to return considered staying permanently in their origin country right after their return journey.
2. When the survey was carried out and the migrants were asked about their intention to leave again their country for abroad (Tab. F2), 23.4% of them answered during the interview that they considered staying permanently in their homeland and that they did not consider leaving again for the time being (16%). This is an important element, as it allows to understand that in the lapse of time between the return journey (Tab. F1) and the interview (Tab. F2), migrants re-evaluated their post-return expectations in their origin country, especially those who had decided to return to their origin country on their own initiative. This turnaround seems to stem from the fact that during the time lapsed between the return journey and the moment when the survey was carried out the migrants’ post-return conditions (both objectively and subjectively) had changed.

The migrants who declared that they wished to re-migrate, considered leaving again for the former immigration country (Tab. F3). The main reasons evoked are related to the fact that they “know the country already and wish to live there”, they wish to “renew their documents” and, eventually, they think they have “no future in their origin country” (Tab. F4). The latter motivation is particularly recurrent regarding migrants who were forced to return (Tab. F4.2). The latter, however, show some hesitation when they are asked whether they consider leaving again either in the short or long run (Tab. F3.5).

Whereas nearly 66.5% of the whole sample are satisfied with their return to their homeland, only 34% of the migrants who were forced to return express the same feeling, in contrast to 76.3% of the migrants who decided to return individually (Tab. F6 & Tab. F6.1 & Tab. F6.2 & Tab. F6.3).

The two categories of migrants show significant contrasts also in regard to the difficulties they faced in the origin country. As to the migrants who decided individually to return home, the hindrances are mostly related to administrative obstacles, difficulties of re-adaptation and the inefficiency of the public healthcare system in the origin country (Tab. F7), especially for the migrants returning to Morocco (Tab. F7.2). On the other hand, the main hindrances reported by the migrants who were forced to return are mostly related to resilient under-employment in their origin country, low salaries, difficulties of re-adaptation and problems with the public authorities in the homeland. Such difficulties partly explain why more than half of the migrants who were forced to return feel very distressed at home (Tab. F8).

Finally, less than one migrant out of every ten said that s/he benefited from public assistance in the origin country (Tab. F9).