Return Labour Migrants: The Case of Return Migration from the UK to Poland

This paper presents the initial findings of research on inclusion and employment of return migrants from the UK to Poland. The crucial event for the European migration landscape was the enlargement of the European Union in 2004 and 2007. With almost 2 million emigrants Poland has become the biggest EU emigration country, with the UK the most popular destination, leading inevitably to consequences for the social fabric and labour markets in both states. This has led to the concept of “liquid migration”, characterised by the undefined migration duration and the tendency of the CEE migrants to adapt to destination labour markets. However, the consequences of this to the careers of CEE return migrants remains insufficiently examined. Taking the interpretive sociology perspective and based on biographical narrative interviews with Polish return migrants, the paper analyses migrants’ main motivations for return and problems they face during their reintegration.