Seven months after the first cases of COVID-19 emerged in Bangladesh, the pandemic continues to impact mobility, security and socioeconomic stability within the country and on a global scale. As a result, migrant returnees remain vulnerable to a number of challenges, including severely limited employment access, mobility restrictions, health concerns, debt repayment, and, as participants of a mobile population, social stigmas related to return.

In May and June 2020, IOM, supported by the European Union under the regional program REMAP and in coordination with the Research and Policy unit of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, Bangladesh, along with the NPM team based in Cox’s Bazar, conducted a data collection exercise among 2,765 Bangladeshi international and internal return migrants in order to rapidly assess their immediate needs and vulnerabilities in the wake of COVID-19.