ABSTRACT
In many Western industrialized nations, immigrants represent the youngest and fastest growing segment of the population (Hernandez, 2012). The majority population of most of these nations is likely to have a low birthrate, and it is foreseeable that they will depend on young immigrant families to fill this demographic gap. Consequently, the economic and social success of many nations will depend to a large extent on these immigrant families and their offspring. Social policies which facilitate the successful adaptation and integration of immigrants are therefore a pressing and timely issue. Some countries have adopted different social policies towards returning diaspora migrants and towards work-migrants or refugees. As outlined in the chapter by Tsuda (this volume), the term “returning diaspora migrants” refers to the descendants of migrants who have lived outside of their homeland for generations. However, aside from some privileges, such as fast access to work permits and citizenships, these returning diaspora migrants are likely to face challenges similar to the obstacles of other immigrants. Culture and language change and develop over time. If cultures are separated over time with little or no exchange, they are likely to progress in different directions. It is possible that diaspora migrants have either preserved the culture of origin from the time of their ancestors’ departure and that values and behaviors have basically petrified (Greenfield and Suzuki, 2000), that the diaspora culture has developed over the generations from the time of departure but in a different direction than in the country of origin, or that the diaspora migrants have adopted the culture and language of their host country at least to some extent.
