Highly skilled return migration from Germany to Turkey: Decision-making and reintegration process

The main aim of the study is to understand the dynamics affecting the decision of qualified migrants of Turkish origin who have lived in Germany to return to Turkey while they were already working there in a job suitable to their qualifications and the dynamics affecting their reintegration processes after their return. For this purpose, return migration theories and theories of reintegration were examined and tried to be explained in detail. The research design of this study, which is designed as a qualitative study and adopts a hermeneutic approach, is phenomenology. Purposive sampling was used to interview 47 individuals who completed one or more of their undergraduate/graduate/Ph. D. studies in Germany, either lived in Germany for at least five years or was involved in professional work life in Germany and returned to Turkey at least two years ago. The data obtained from these interviews were analyzed with MAXQDA, a qualitative data analysis program. Descriptive analysis was carried out within the framework of the themes of return motivations, pendulum of belonging, reintegration process, and tendencies to re-migrate, which were determined within the framework of the research questions. The decision to return is not based on a single reason but on the experiences of discrimination, the oppressive climate, the inactivity of social life, and the desire for children to receive education in Turkey. The main problematic areas in the processes of reintegration in Turkey are encountered in business and social life. Their careers in Turkey have generally been in jobs where they can utilize their "transcultural capital." It was observed that the arrival in Turkey was an "existential return to the roots" for those who had experienced their first socialization in Germany, and when it was experienced that living in Turkey was not as idealized, a "counter-diaspora" and a "reverse transnationalism" were mentioned.