Mobility Circle and Return Migration A case study of Bulgarian Students Maria Velizarova

Content Theoretical overview  Mobility circle  Theoretical perspectives in the return migration studies  Emigration in Bulgaria – data and its absence Case study  Sample overview  Motivation in the different mobility stages  Sustainability of the return Conclusions

Theoretical overview

Theoretical perspectives in the return migration studies “The movement of a person returning to his / her country of origin or habitual residence usually after spending at least one year in another country. This return may or may not be voluntary. Return migration includes voluntary repatriation. ” ( IML Glossary on Migration ; IOM ; 2004) Neoclassical economics (NE)  The return is seen as a failure The new economics of labor migration (NELM)  A calculated strategy Structuralism  Return is a question of context Trans-nationalism  Mobility is no impediment anymore Social network theory  Securing the return

Mobility Circle Decision for Mobility Situation abroad Decision for going back Emigration Return Situation at the home country

Emigration in Bulgaria – data and the its absence Before 1989 there was a restrictive emigration policy in Bulgaria  The net migration flow from 1992 to 2001 is “– ” people  The most of them were young and in working age, with at least completed secondary school  The primary reason of the emigration was an economic one Lack of information and difficulties to find the returnees after they are back home  No tradition in the data collection and no systematized data  No register or no statistical data on national level

Case study

Sample overview Snowball sample 70 online respondents and 8 in-depth interviews Age: 80% are between ,9% were studying before the departure 80% have an University degree and 20% a high school degree 70% are in Bulgaria not longer than 2 years The 5 most represented countries are Germany, Austria, USA, Italy and England.

Situation at home before the departure The corruption and the criminality ( 72%) before the departure were the biggest problems for the respondents None of the respondents with just high school was satisfied with the economic situation in Bulgaria before their departure.

Decision for mobility – Push Factors The big importance of the education as push factor explains the lower rates on economic and family push factors. The respondents without a foreign university degree were less unsatisfied with the education in Bulgaria. For them the economic problems were more important than for the respondents with a foreign university degree.

Decision for mobility – Pull Factors The better economic situation in the foreign country was stronger motivation for the respondents without a foreign university degree than the one with. For the respondents with a foreign university degree was the family and network abroad not so important, that for the respondents without such. The economic pull factors were mostly important for the returnees from Austria (72%), USA (71%) and Germany (37,5%) 83% of the returnees from Germany were totally motivated to study abroad. By the returnees from Austria 36% were totally and 27% were mostly motivated to study abroad. For the USA returnees this proportion was 57% to 20%. It can be expected that another motivation, like good job or good payment, is playing more important role than the education motive in those two countries.

Prearrangements for mobility actions Migration prearrangements Good informed Knowledge of the language JobSavings Place to live Scholarship 81%51%13%69%52%17% 89% were financially supported from their families. Just 52% from the respondents found a place to live before their departure. This result rise the question: Where were staying the rest 48% at their first days abroad, and if the networks abroad was not underestimate as a factor for the choice of emigration country.

Situation abroad and migration experience 60% stayed abroad between 1 and 5 years, which is considered as a critical stage in one's emigration life 64% were coming to Bulgaria during their stay abroad 2 or more times an year and 31% once a year.

Situation abroad and migration experience The respondents with foreign degree have less economic problems abroad than the rest. The respondents with residence problems were mostly foreign graduates. The younger respondents and the one without foreign degree felt the absence of social network stronger than the rest.

Decision for going back home The remoteness is not playing a significant role for the decision of returning to Bulgaria. Family and network are more important for the respondents with just a high school degree.

Situation back home 24% are not good economic reintegrated – 68,8% are women The data confirmed the positive relation between economic reintegration and the length of stay in Bulgaria.  The longer the returnees are in Bulgaria, the better is their economic reintegration. Satisfaction with the personal economic situation Very goodRelative goodBad 50%26%24%

Sustainability 50% of the returnees shown a high potential for further mobility All of the respondents from the in-depth interviews said they didn’t want to stay in Bulgaria and they are using the good situation in the country to earn experience, to make a career and to reach a good position in a few years. To do so abroad as they said will take much longer. They were making plans to reach their goals and good positions in a few years and to go abroad but on a higher position and with better standard of living than before.

Return-migration typology Using the theoretical perspectives given from Cassarinio, there could be recognized the four main types of returnees. According to the description of the returnees in this sample, they are mostly corresponding to the “Return of innovation”, where both the relations to the home and to the foreign countries are strong. Reintegration in Bulgaria StrongWeak Integration abroad Strong“Return of innovation”“Unsustainable return” Weak“Return of conservatism”“Return of failure”

Conclusions Education and economic reasons for migration No strong push factors to return back to Bulgaria Strong attachment to the network in Bulgaria Good economic reintegration Big potential for further mobility

Thank you for the attention! Maria Velizarova