E.g., 07/23/2026
E.g., 07/23/2026
Circular Migration

Circular Migration

International migration has undergone transformation over recent decades, and one element of change has been the substantial increase in non-permanent, circular migration. While such mobility has a long history, international circular migration is occurring on an unprecedentedly large scale. Modern forms of transport and communication have reduced the friction of distance between origin and destination countries. And migrant workers can obtain the best of both worlds in that they can earn in high-income destinations and spend in low-cost origins.

Recent Activity

Cover image for From Exile to Return
Reports
April 2026
From Exile to Return: Rebuilding Lives and States after Conflict
By  Samuel Davidoff-Gore and Susan Fratzke
Migrantes venezolanos esperan procesamiento en Brasil.
Articles
October 2, 2025
El aumento de la migración en América Latina y el Caribe ha marcado el comienzo de una nueva era volátil
By Diego Chaves-González, Valerie Lacarte, Andrew Selee y Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
Venezuelan migrants wait for processing in Brazil.
Articles
October 2, 2025
Rising Migration in Latin America and the Caribbean Has Ushered in a Volatile New Era
By Diego Chaves-González, Valerie Lacarte, Andrew Selee, and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
Two Ukrainian women in Czechia
Short Reads
February 2025
Policy Paradox: How Robust Host-Country Support for Ukrainian Refugees Can Foster Integration and Return
By  Ravenna Sohst and Jasmijn Slootjes
People harvesting crops in South Korea.
Articles
January 28, 2025
Immigration Systems in Labor-Needy Japan and South Korea Have Evolved—but Remain Restrictive
By Erin Aeran Chung and Yunchen Tian
An Afghan woman in the Semnan refugee settlement in Iran.
Articles
January 7, 2025
One of the World’s Largest Refugee Populations, Afghans Have Faced Increasing Restrictions in Iran
By Mitra Naseh
Multimedia
November 13, 2024
To Stay or Go: Factors Shaping Ukrainian Refugees’ Intentions Whether to Return to Ukraine
Cover image for Exploring Refugees’ Intentions to Return to Ukraine
Reports
December 2024
Exploring Refugees’ Intentions to Return to Ukraine: Data Insights and Policy Responses
By  Ravenna Sohst, Tino Tirado, Lucía Salgado and Jasmijn Slootjes
More
Cover image for From Exile to Return
Reports
April 2026
From Exile to Return: Rebuilding Lives and States after Conflict
By  Samuel Davidoff-Gore and Susan Fratzke
Cover image for Exploring Refugees’ Intentions to Return to Ukraine
Reports
December 2024
Exploring Refugees’ Intentions to Return to Ukraine: Data Insights and Policy Responses
By  Ravenna Sohst, Tino Tirado, Lucía Salgado and Jasmijn Slootjes
Cover image for Construyendo vías regulares para abordar presiones migratorias...
Reports
June 2024
Construyendo vías regulares para abordar presiones migratorias en el hemisferio occidental
By  María Jesús Mora, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto and Andrew Selee
Cover image for Building on Regular Pathways to Address Migration Pressures in the Americas
Reports
June 2024
Building on Regular Pathways to Address Migration Pressures in the Americas
By  María Jesús Mora, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto and Andrew Selee
Cover image for The State of Global Mobility in the Aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Reports
April 2024
The State of Global Mobility in the Aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic
By  Meghan Benton, Lawrence Huang, Jeanne Batalova and Tino Tirado
Cover image for Mobility Shutdown
Reports
March 2024
Mobility Shutdown: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Migration in Asia and the Pacific
By  Lawrence Huang
Cover image for Diverging Paths
Reports
March 2024
Diverging Paths: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Migration in the Middle East and North Africa
By  Samuel Davidoff-Gore
Cover image for Migration and Displacement in Secondary Cities
Reports
November 2023
Migration and Displacement in Secondary Cities: Insights from Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda
By  Samuel Davidoff-Gore and Camille Le Coz
More
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.

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.

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.

More
Two Ukrainian women in Czechia
Short Reads
February 2025
Policy Paradox: How Robust Host-Country Support for Ukrainian Refugees Can Foster Integration and Return
By  Ravenna Sohst and Jasmijn Slootjes
Image of women and young children from Ukraine arriving at train station in Bucharest
Short Reads
October 2022
Why the European Labor Market Integration of Displaced Ukrainians Is Defying Expectations
By  Maria Vincenza Desiderio and Kate Hooper
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other leaders at the 2022 Summit of the Americas
Short Reads
June 2022
The Los Angeles Declaration Could Represent a Big Step for Real Migration Cooperation across the Americas
By  Andrew Selee
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other leaders at the 2022 Summit of the Americas
Short Reads
June 2022
La Declaración de Los Ángeles podría representar un gran paso para la cooperación migratoria real en las Américas
By  Andrew Selee
Image of Central American migrant caravan passing through Chiapas, Mexico
Short Reads
April 2022
Beyond the Border: Opportunities for Managing Regional Migration between Central and North America
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto and Andrew Selee
Photo of computer lab at the Jugaani village school in Georgia
Short Reads
June 2021
Achieving the “Partnership” in the European Union’s Talent Partnerships
By  Kate Hooper
Short Reads
January 2015
The Field of Migration Studies Loses a Giant: Graeme Hugo
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou
Video, Audio
November 13, 2024

To Stay or Go: Factors Shaping Ukrainian Refugees’ Intentions Whether to Return to Ukraine

Despite the ongoing war and heavy destruction across Ukraine, an estimated 1 million Ukrainians had returned to their country as of August 2024. On this webinar, experts discuss what shape refugees’ intentions to return or remain abroad.

Expert Q&A, Audio
October 19, 2023

Documenting the Migration Journey: African Kinship Dynamics in Europe

African migrants turn to the strength of kinship-based support systems in pursuit of stability as they settle in a European landscape that is sometimes made precarious by their legal status and shifting policies. This episode discusses use of the kinship networks, including to exchange or broker identity documents between migrants along the migration journey and at destination.

Expert Q&A, Audio
August 24, 2023

Managing Changing Migration Dynamics and Policies in West Africa for Regional Gain

MPI Europe Associate Director Camille Le Coz discusses migration dynamics in West Africa and and how African leaders are responding to these trends with Leander Kandilige, a senior lecturer at the Centre for Migration Studies at the University of Ghana.

Video, Audio
June 14, 2022

Alternativas a la migración irregular: Ampliación de los programas de trabajo temporal en Canadá, México y Costa Rica

Este seminario web, que presenta el lanzamiento de un informe, examina el potencial de Canadá, México y Costa Rica para expandir los programas de trabajadores temporales para los centroamericanos, ofreciendo un medio importante para convertir algunos flujos irregulares en flujos legales.

Expert Q&A, Audio
November 24, 2021

Thinking Regionally to Act Locally in Immigration Policy

With migration a dynamic phenomenon in the Americas, the U.S. government increasingly is realizing that migration management should be viewed in a regional context. This requires a new set of policies and ways of engagement with countries in North and Central America, and beyond, as MPI President Andrew Selee discusses with colleague Andrea Tanco in this episode of our World of Migration podcast.

More

Recent Activity

Reports
April 2026

From Exile to Return: Rebuilding Lives and States after Conflict

The fall of Syria’s Assad regime has raised questions in high-income countries about when displaced Syrians will return home. Similar conversations are underway about the nearly 7 million displaced Ukrainians. This report examines the complexity of facilitating returns without imperiling reconstruction, fueling additional displacement, and uprooting well-integrated workers and members of host societies.

Articles
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.

Articles
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.

Short Reads
February 2025

Policy Paradox: How Robust Host-Country Support for Ukrainian Refugees Can Foster Integration and Return

European governments hosting Ukrainian refugees have an opportunity to craft policies that deepen local inclusion while also fortifying Ukrainians if they seek to return home. By prioritizing comprehensive and durable support systems now, leaders can lay the groundwork for a future that benefits both those who stay and those who eventually choose to return, as this MPI Europe short read explains.

Articles
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.

Articles
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.

Video, Audio, Webinars
November 13, 2024

To Stay or Go: Factors Shaping Ukrainian Refugees’ Intentions Whether to Return to Ukraine

Despite the ongoing war and heavy destruction across Ukraine, an estimated 1 million Ukrainians had returned to their country as of August 2024. On this webinar, experts discuss what shape refugees’ intentions to return or remain abroad.

Reports
December 2024

Exploring Refugees’ Intentions to Return to Ukraine: Data Insights and Policy Responses

The European response to displacement from Ukraine has been unprecedented. Yet as the war has stretched on, uncertainty has grown about whether and when refugees will be able to return home. This report examines a wide range of personal, host-country, and origin-country factors that contribute to refugees’ intentions to return or stay abroad, and what this means for the ongoing policy response in European host countries.

More