Based on a sample of around one thousand interviews with returnees in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, the report sets out to determine the manifold factors shaping return migrants’ patterns of reintegration. Its novelty lies, among others, in making a distinction between migrants who decided to return and those who were compelled to do so. Actually, as the collected data were gradually processed and analysed, it turned out that this distinction was key to understanding migrants’ patterns of social and professional reintegration.

Beyond their analytical relevance, the data presented in this report emphasises the preconditions that need to be considered in order to foster the contribution of returnees to development, whether these are temporary or permanent.

Today, the introduction of temporary labour migrant schemes and circular migration are gradually gaining momentum in bilateral and multilateral talks between the European Union and its neighbours. There is no question that the implementation of such programmes will call for more attention to the post-return conditions of temporary or permanent returnees as well as to their various levels of return preparedness. The extent to which decision-makers in destination and origin countries will implement these provisions will determine their efficacy and sustainability.

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