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Migration Information Source - Articles by 'Circular Migration' Term
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Articles - Circular Migration

Migrantes venezolanos esperan procesamiento en Brasil.
Feature
October 2, 2025
El aumento de la migración en América Latina y el Caribe ha marcado el comienzo de una nueva era volátil

Un nivel histórico de migración está transformando las sociedades y la política en América Latina y el Caribe, dando paso a una etapa definida por la volatilidad. Este artículo analiza estas dinámicas en el Caribe y Centroamérica y Sudamérica, y analiza la probabilidad de que la región se acerque a un punto de inflexión en la gestión de la migración.

Venezuelan migrants wait for processing in Brazil.
Feature
October 2, 2025
Rising Migration in Latin America and the Caribbean Has Ushered in a Volatile New Era

Amid unprecedented migration that began in 2010, Latin America and the Caribbean have entered a new era best defined by volatility. The success of initial policy responses to the displacement of millions of Venezuelans and other migration patterns has dimmed, given incomplete integration outcomes and other pressures. This article details these dynamics across the Caribbean and Central and South America.

People harvesting crops in South Korea.
Feature
January 28, 2025
Immigration Systems in Labor-Needy Japan and South Korea Have Evolved—but Remain Restrictive

Japan and South Korea clearly need workers, as their native-born populations age and shrink. Slowly, the countries have embraced immigration to fill the gap—but systems still remain restrictive. This article spells out the countries' similar evolving approaches: The creation of multi-tiered visa systems that preference temporary immigration.

An Afghan woman in the Semnan refugee settlement in Iran.
Feature
January 7, 2025
One of the World’s Largest Refugee Populations, Afghans Have Faced Increasing Restrictions in Iran

Iran, host to the world's largest refugee population, has long served as a refuge for Afghans escaping instability and conflict. The government welcomed refugees and other migrants from Afghanistan and beyond in previous eras, but its approach has grown increasingly restrictive in recent years, driven by economic strains and security concerns. This article reviews the periods of forced migration from Afghanistan to Iran and the Iranian government's responses over recent decades.

Women walk by the Sky Tower in Auckland.
Profile
October 16, 2024
New Zealand: From Settler Colony to Country Reliant on Temporary Immigration

New Zealand, once chiefly a destination for British and Irish settlers, has become a destination for temporary labor and student migration from Asia and beyond. Immigrants comprised 29 percent of the population as of 2023, but many have temporary statuses that do not offer full residence rights. This article provides a wide-ranging overview of the country's past and present trends and policies.

Migrants being deported from the United States to Mexico.
Feature
October 2, 2024
Large-Scale Deportations May Have Unintended Consequences

Do large-scale deportations lead to safer communities, better jobs, and less irregular migration? Research shows the answer is less clear than leading voices may suggest. This article provides an overview of research about the impacts of removals on destination and origin countries alike, focusing in particular on deportations from the United States to Latin America.

A Swiss border sign.
Profile
September 18, 2024
Switzerland Comes to Terms with Being a Country of Immigration

Immigration has shaped modern Switzerland, at times in ways different than expected. Its foreign-born population share is larger than that of many other European countries or the United States. Yet the Swiss public has repeatedly expressed anxiety about newcomers, and periods of increased immigration have often coincided with efforts at restriction. This article provides an overview of Switzerland's migration trends, policies, and tensions.

Dancers at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.
Profile
May 23, 2024
Mexico at a Crossroads Once More: Emigration Levels Off as Transit Migration and Immigration Rise

Mexico is the source of the world’s second-largest migrant population. In recent years the country has found itself at an unexpected crossroads: Managing the transit of growing numbers of asylum seekers and other migrants headed to the United States. Meanwhile, the Mexican-born population in the United States has declined significantly since 2010. This article provides an overview of the major trends and policies.

Photo of returning Filipino migrant workers.
Feature
January 3, 2024
The Philippines’ Landmark Labor Export and Development Policy Enters the Next Generation

Fifty years after the birth of the Philippines' strategy to use emigration as a tool for development, the government is doubling down on labor migration. While deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) slumped during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the government and civil society pivoting to assist with return migration and reintegration for hundreds of thousands of Filipinos, emigration has since rebounded, as this article details.

An Indian internal migrant walks with her children in Delhi
Feature
September 10, 2020
Gaps in India’s Treatment of Refugees and Vulnerable Internal Migrants Are Exposed by the Pandemic

India has no refugee law and has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention, leaving many of its estimated 250,000 recognized refugees in a legal gray area. Meanwhile, more than 450 million internal migrants form the foundation of the country's economy, yet often have trouble accessing government benefits, identity cards, and other services. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought these shared vulnerabilities into stark relief.

Egyptians in Los Angeles
Profile
August 8, 2018
Egypt: Migration and Diaspora Politics in an Emerging Transit Country

From being a source of labor emigration to the Gulf region to a destination for refugees from Syria, sub-Saharan Africa, and elsewhere, Egypt has long experienced different forms of mobility. This article, which profiles the trends and policies that have shaped Egypt's migration history, focuses on its long-standing use of migration as a soft-power tool to achieve its foreign policy aims and as a safety valve for political discontent.

Rising sea levels threaten Pacific Islands
Feature
June 13, 2018
No Retreat: Climate Change and Voluntary Immobility in the Pacific Islands

While media and academic discussions of "climate refugees" paint a picture of mass displacement of millions, in reality many communities vulnerable to climate change may choose to stay as a result of strong cultural, historical, and spiritual attachments to place. This article explores this "voluntary immobility" and its implications in the Pacific Islands.

Cambodian worker in Thailand
Feature
October 11, 2017
Criminalizing Irregular Migrant Labor: Thailand’s Crackdown in Context

Thailand has become a key destination for migrant workers, primarily from Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. Many lack authorization, however, and as their numbers have grown, so has the government's intent in regulating their movement—sometimes provoking unintended results. This article explores recent patterns in labor migration to Thailand and examines the likely impacts of a 2017 decree criminalizing illegal employment.

Feature
February 25, 2016
Seeking Safety, Jobs, and More: Afghanistan’s Mixed Flows Test Migration Policies

Afghanistan, once the world's largest origin of refugees, is increasingly experiencing mixed migration, including seasonal and permanent outflows for both economic and humanitarian reasons, internal displacement, and refugee returns. This feature article examines the current trends with a focus on return migration and the development impacts at the intersection of displacement and urbanization.

Feature
June 18, 2015
Redefining Nepal: Internal Migration in a Post-Conflict, Post-Disaster Society
Even as Nepal will lean more heavily on its international diaspora to help recover from devastating earthquakes that killed thousands and decimated parts of the country, the disasters have had effects on internal migration. Class and gender dynamics have long driven significant internal flows. This feature article explores migration trends in Nepal, including movement between ecological zones, growing urbanization, and the feminization of an increasingly mobile workforce.
Profile
May 28, 2015
Revolution and Political Transition in Tunisia: A Migration Game Changer?

With a history of encouraging workers to emigrate to relieve unemployment at home, Tunisia now has 11 percent of its population living abroad. The factors underlying the 2011 revolution that sparked the Arab Spring have also fueled emigration desires for many Tunisians. This country profile explores historical and current trends in Tunisia from colonial settlement to the aftermath of the Arab Spring, and the new focus on migrant rights at home and abroad.

Feature
January 24, 2012
Here, There, and Back Again: A New Zealand Case Study of Chinese Circulatory Transmigration

Rarely is migration among the Chinese from Hong Kong, the People's Republic of China, and Taiwan to the countries of the Pacific Rim as cut and dry as the labels "immigrant," "emigrant," and "returnee" suggest. In fact, Chinese migrants from each of these areas of origin share a tendency for traversing between their homeland; country of work, study, or residence; and even a third country as the needs of the family dictate. This article examines these contemporary migration patterns using Chinese migrants in New Zealand as a case study.

Feature
April 22, 2010
Show Me the Money (and Opportunity): Why Skilled People Leave Home — and Why They Sometimes Return

Five factors, including wages and professional development, drive skilled people to migrate, and three reasons encourage them to return. Laura Chappell and Alex Glennie of ippr in London look at all of these factors and how motivations vary across different contexts and groups of migrants.

Feature
April 26, 2007
Secondary Migration: Who Re-Migrates and Why These Migrants Matter

Relatively little is known about migration that involves more than one destination. Ayumi Takenaka of Bryn Mawr College examines the available data to assess who re-migrates to the United States.

Feature
February 1, 2007
Linking Temporary Worker Schemes with Development

Temporary workers, generally seen as a solution to the changing and growing economic needs of developed countries, rarely focus on the needs of migrant-sending countries. MPI's Dovelyn Agunias reviews relevant research and the policy options proposed for closing this gap.

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