ABSTRACT

Using the lens of temporality, this chapter examines the notion of migration as a singular phenomenon, as one definitive act in an individual’s life, and asks if migration decisions are not integral to one’s life or to questions one carries permanently within oneself, a set of decisions that might be made in stages. It highlights the temporality of migration phenomenon and employs a notion of migration in stages. Accordingly, three phases in the lives of migrants are distinguished: arrival, further stay, and possible return, settlement or remigration. The third stage remains an imaginary stage, as most migrants stay put physically, but wander or remain mobile in other ways, thereby never having to ‘settle’, return or remigrate. The mobility/migration nexus therefore takes a backseat in the further stay stage where migrants start being influenced by quality-of-life concerns. The motivations for further stay clearly shape return intentions. A large group of respondents hold open-ended return intentions and consider several options equally viable. This openness to mobility again shows the centrality of the mobility/migration nexus in their lives and the need to shift our attention from (non-)return to mobility.