Returning Home at Times of Trouble? Return Migration of EU Enlargement Migrants during the Crisis

Return migration is crucial for sending countries, given that it might alleviate the potential negative consequences of the brain-drain and care-drain, and it is becoming increasingly important in post-enlargement Europe. This chapter provides a systematic analysis of its emerging evidence. While the on-going economic crisis might have accelerated the returns of some of these migrants, given that several new member states, particularly the Baltics, were hit relatively more by the crisis than several destination countries, return migration might be delayed.