ABSTRACT
In this chapter we focus on first-generation migrants – people born in Albania who moved to Greece or Italy at a certain point in their life (as adults) – who returned to Albania. Starting with an overview of our sample population, their socio-demographic features, and their situation of return, reintegration, or onward mobility at the time of our fieldwork in 2014 and 2017, we then analyse their return–reintegration–mobility experience based on a set of 51 qualitative interviews conducted in Albania in 2014 and 2017. We first investigate motivations and preparations for returning (hence the pre-departure stage from the destination country), the type – intentions and duration – of return, and then the post-return and reintegration phase. In this last phase we distinguish between socio-economic and cultural-identity reintegration aspects. The last section of the chapter discusses remigration and onward mobility patterns.
