Return Migration and the Importance of Reintegration Policies

SMERU’s study on return migration (2014) has established a comprehensive migrant reintegration framework for Indonesia, enabling the mapping of reintegration programs in Indonesia. Most programs direct return migrants to self-employment, creating a wide gap between existing programs for self-employment and those for wage employment. At the same time, circular migration in Indonesia poses challenges for designing sustainable reintegration programs. Nevertheless, these challenges do not reduce the relevance of having a comprehensive reintegration framework for Indonesia, particularly if the government intends to reduce the number of overseas domestic workers to zero by 2017.