Return migration

See our  thematic page on COVID-19 and migration data for data on return migration due to COVID-19.

Global

While millions of migrants return to their country of origin every year, not all returns are necessarily recorded. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic posed considerable challenges to return migration because of lockdowns, travel restrictions, limited consular services, and other containment measures, and had a decelerating effect on return activities. In 2021, many countries lifted travel restrictions and different types of migration, including return migration, resumed but not to pre-pandemic levels.

The number of beneficiaries of IOM’s Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) in 2021 increased by 17 per cent (from 37,043 in 2020 to 43,428 in 2021) (IOM, 2022). The number of beneficiaries of voluntary humanitarian return increased by 57 per cent, from 4,038 in 2020 to 6,367 in 2021 (Ibid.).

The top 5 host/transit countries for AVRR in 2021 were: Niger (10,573), Germany (6,785), Libya (4,332), Greece (2,736), and Morocco (2,372) (Ibid.).

The European Economic Area (EEA) and the United Kingdom (UK)

During the pandemic, Frontex, the European Union Border and Coast Guard Agency, reported that travel restrictions and a decline in consular services  had a decelerating effect on return migration (Frontex, 2021).

Around 291,000 irregular migrants were given a “return decision” by European Union (EU) Member States in 2020 but only 61,951people were effectively returned (either forcibly or voluntarily) (Frontex, 2021). In 2021, 18,300 people returned with Frontex’s support (Frontex, 2022).

In 2019, 19,000 people left the UK via enforced or voluntary return, the lowest annual level since 2014 (Walsh, 2020). There were 7,400 enforced returns in 2018, 22% fewer than in the previous year – and the lowest annual level since 2004 – due to changes in the immigration systems, such as a reduced use of detention (Ibid.). Voluntary returns still account for the biggest share of all returns (Ibid.). COVID-19 has significantly impacted returns and all categories of return declined in the first quarter of 2020 (ibid.).

A total of 16,993 migrants were assisted to return from the EEA in 2021, which accounted for 34 per cent of the total global caseload  (IOM, 2022). Most of the beneficiaries were assisted to return from Germany (6,785, or 40% of the total number of beneficiaries assisted from the EEA).  Next top countries were Greece (2,736), Belgium (1,665), the Netherlands (1,448), and Austria (1,356)  (Ibid.).

South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia (SEEECA)

Historically, the region had mostly countries of origin, but the movements have recently become more diverse, and it has countries of origin, transit as well as destination. In 2021, a total of  2,757 migrants were assisted to return from the SEEECA region  (Ibid.). Countries in the region, especially the Western Balkans, have increasingly become transit countries for migrants and refugees from the Middle East and Asia on their way to Western Europe. The Russian Federation has been the main destination country though the Ukraine-Russian conflict will likely have impact on this. Also, intraregional migration remains key in the region even though most outflows are towards the European Union (IOM, 2020). 

Central America, North America and the Caribbean 

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported 59,011 removals in fiscal year 2021 (ICE, 2022). Of these 59,011 removals, 28,677 were removed on or after February 18, 2021 (Ibid.).

In 2021, there were 742 cases of AVRR from Central and North America and the Caribbean, or more than double the cases in 2020 (359) (IOM, 2022). 37 percent of the cases were children. Like in 2018 to 2020, Mexico was the top country from which the majority of migrants (64% or 473) in the region were returned (Ibid.). The next top host countries were Guatemala (85), Honduras (61), El Salvador (52) and Panama  (38) (Ibid.).

South America

In 2021, a total of 17 migrants returned from South America; half were female and half were male, but 30 per cent of the cases were children (Ibid.). Such a low number of migrants returning from the region is explained by the fact that governments in the region placed regularization options through the application of general or specific migration instruments for regional and extraregional nationals, such as the Residence Agreement for Nationals of the States Parties of the Associated States of the Common Market (Mercado Común del Sur – MERCOSUR) (IOM, 2019). The region is also marked by significant intraregional migration flows, which account for about 70 per cent of the immigration in the region (IOM, 2020). In the last few years, South America has seen a significant increase of Venezuelan migrants and refugees, prompting countries to liberalize intraregional migration in order to better support them (IOM, 2020).

Asia and the Pacific 

In 2021, a total of 753 migrants were assisted to return from Asia and the Pacific region (IOM, 2022). As in 2018-2020,  the majority of return flows from the region in 2021were intraregional. The top 5 host countries in the region were: Australia (248), Malaysia (186), Indonesia (107), Japan (39) China (35) (Ibid.).

The Middle East and North Africa

In 2021, a total of 12,588 migrants (6,221 migrants assisted under AVRR and 6,367 migrants assisted under VHR) were returned from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, representing a  75 per cent increase  from the total number of returns in 2020; 78 per cent of the cases were male and the rest were female (Ibid.). The top 5 host countries in the regions were: Libya (4,332), Morocco (2,377), Yemen (2,035), Algeria (1,972) and Tunisia (975) (Ibid.).

West and Central Africa

In 2021, 13,227 returns from the West and Central Africa (WCA) region accounted for 27 per cent of the global AVRR caseload (Ibid.). The Niger alone accounted for approximately  80 per cent (10,573) of all migrants assisted to return from the region (Ibid.). The majority of international migrants in WCA were intraregional, which confirms the trend of increasing numbers of returns taking place from transit countries.  In 2021, West and Central Africa remained the main region of origin with a share of 45% of all migrant assisted to voluntarily return by IOM (Ibid.). The three main countries of origin within the region were Guinea with 5,165 returns, Mali (4,453) and Nigeria (3,322) (Ibid.).

East and Horn of Africa

In East and Horn of Africa, a total of  2,100 migrants were assisted to return from the region in 2021, more than double   the number of migrants assisted to returned in 2020  (Ibid.). The majority of the beneficiaries (74%) assisted to return were male. The majority of those assisted were also from Djibouti, representing around 43.4 per cent of the total regional caseload, or 911cases. The second biggest host country in the region was the Suda, approximately 25  per cent of AVRRs from the region or 535 cases (Ibid.).

Southern Africa 

In 2021, a total of 618 migrants were assisted to return from Southern Africa; of these, 80 percent were male and the rest were female (Ibid.). The top five host countries in this region from which migrants were assisted to return from were South Africa (237), Malawi (139),  Zambia (132), Zimbabwe (58) and Namibia (24) (Ibid.).