BRUSSELS — As return and reintegration rise higher on the agendas of countries of origin, governments are refining how they manage these processes while balancing domestic priorities, development goals and cooperation with destination countries. A new Migration Policy Institute Europe policy brief released today analyses how these approaches are evolving amid origin-country governments’ growing concern over precarious conditions for returnees and pressures over readmission and reintegration conditions. It also highlights opportunities to strengthen governance and coordination with destination countries in Europe and beyond. The policy brief, Reframing Return and Reintegration: Origin-country priorities and strategies for cooperation, draws on interviews with key stakeholders in a number of migrant-origin countries (including Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal and Tunisia) as well as in-depth review of policies, national strategies and research on return and reintegration practices, with a focus on Armenia, Cameroon, Ghana, Iraq and Nigeria. It finds that policies and institutional frameworks for managing return and reintegration have developed significantly in recent years. Many governments have established coordination mechanisms, adopted national strategies or integrated reintegration support within broader employment and social protection systems. These shifts have been shaped by humanitarian concerns, growing awareness of migrants’ vulnerabilities and lessons drawn from crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. They have also been supported by international donors, particularly European partners. Governments are now testing different institutional and policy models, the analysts note. Some origin countries have introduced stand-alone strategies with clearly defined mandates and budgets, while others have embedded return and reintegration within existing policy frameworks. Each approach offers advantages and trade-offs. As the authors write, ‘Dedicated strategies bring clarity and visibility but can risk isolation from other relevant agendas, while mainstreaming can promote inclusion of these issues within core state services but risks diluting responsibility for them and obscuring the unique challenges faced by returnees’. The brief observes that ministries of foreign affairs often lead on returns because of their consular and coordination roles with international partners, though governments may rely on social or labour ministries to manage reintegration through existing employment and social protection systems. Increasingly, origin countries are strengthening local-level coordination to link national frameworks with regional and municipal actors best placed to support returnees’ immediate needs. At the same time, the governance of return and reintegration remains shaped by domestic and external considerations. Reliance on remittances, domestic politics and visa access all shape whether and how origin countries engage in return cooperation with European governments, and as the brief observes, ‘carrots and sticks introduced by external actors rarely override home-front politics’. The policy brief identifies several areas of focus that could enhance the coherence and effectiveness of return and reintegration efforts: - Maintain dialogue between migrant-origin and destination countries, rather than relying heavily on pressure or bypassing mechanisms, which may deliver short-term results but risk undermining longer-term cooperation.
- Integrate returnees into existing public services, which can help foster public support for these investments and reduce the perception that returning migrants receive a form of preferential treatment.
- Engage local authorities and civil-society actors in reintegration governance and budget planning to strengthen support structures and be more responsive to the local context.
- Enhance data collection and create robust monitoring and evaluation of services targeted at returnees to inform policy and assess long-term outcomes.
‘Ultimately, strengthening origin countries’ governance and operational models is key to ensuring that migrant returns are managed humanely and sustainably,’ the analysts conclude. ‘Coherent frameworks that link national and local action, align short-term support with long-term development goals and foster genuine cooperation between origin and destination countries can help transform return from a policy challenge into an opportunity for inclusive development’. Read the policy brief here: www.migrationpolicy.org/research/return-origin-country-priorities. For more of MPI Europe’s analysis and research, visit: www.mpieurope.org. | 
