Home, sweet home? The effect of return migration support mechanisms on reintegration

Based on 68 qualitative interviews carried out in Senegal and DR Congo with beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of programs assisting migrants after their return to their origin country, this article investigates how these programs affect the reintegration of those migrants. It uses an original approach, combining a qualitative thematic analysis of the interviews with a quantitative assessment of the economic, psychosocial and physical dimensions of the reintegration experience. The analyses show that institutional assistance provided after return does not have a positive influence on the return migrants’ reintegration. The research brings new empirical evidence to policy makers, demonstrating that when migrants do not return voluntarily, when they have not prepared their return on their own, and particularly when the context in their origin country is not stable, the chances of successful reintegration are low, even if institutional assistance after return is provided.