Considering Moldovan Return Migration with a Focus on Children: Stratified, Multi-Focal, Step-By-Step?

The ReMiReM project (started July 2024) addresses the return migration perspectives, capacities and actions of Moldovan migrants and their families. During preliminary fieldwork, we have thematized ‘return migration’ within transnational family experience. We observe the complexity of transnational strategies where not a single act of ‘departure’ leads to a single ‘return’, but several strata of migrancy coalesce into a multi-focal transnationality, including a maintained reverse transnational outlook. Therein, Moldovans’ double (Moldovan-Romanian, Moldovan-Italian, Moldovan-Bulgarian etc.) citizenships and their previous migration experience to other post-communist countries allow access to interim places for migration or return within a step-wise longer-distance migration scheme.

On the other hand, recent developments in former sending countries as well as destination countries prompted a renewed return intent in many transnational family members; among their motives are unperfect integration and slowing economies in destination countries, need for maintaining identities and ties to home countries and regions, as well as new opportunities in home countries and in the transnational space. The position of children in this situation is however ambivalent: while they might have home country experience and may even opt for a future in that country (as observed in previous research by the authors), their institutional status and implicit socialization limit them in the long run through factors such as the loss of professional qualifications that are frequently unrecognized in either direction (sic).

In our study, we will address reverse transnationalism and chances of return migration from the direct or indirect perspective of children and adolescents in this context.