Determinants of Intended Return Migration among Refugees: A Comparison of Syrian Refugees in Germany and Turkey

Little is known about whether Syrian refugees intend to return to their origin-country and what affects their return migration intentions. We introduce a theoretical framework for voluntary return, identify the refugees’ decision-making context, and empirically assess the model with a sample of 577 Syrian refugees living in Germany and Turkey in 2018. Three return scenarios were presented in the survey: (i) returning to Syria within two years, (ii) returning when Syria is as safe as before the civil war, and (iii) ever returning. The three scenarios were conceived very differently by the refugees, highlighting the dynamic nature and context dependency of the concept of voluntary return. Syrian refugees in Turkey were more likely to regard their stay as temporary (76 percent), compared to those in Germany (55 percent, p-value of difference = .000). Similarly, structural factors of the origin- and host-countries, that is, the origin-governorate and the current location, were considerably influencing return intentions. Concerning individual factors, female and highly educated refugees had a lower willingness to return. Those who were married were less inclined to return in the short run, yet refugees who self-identified as poor indicated their desired return in the long run. We also analyzed whether random exposure to information regarding return impacted refugees’ intentions. We found a negative, albeit insignificant, impact of information, suggesting that host governments cannot expect (rapid) information dissemination to impact refugees’ decision-making about voluntary return. Our findings underscore that neither proximate nor distant host-countries should bank on the speedy return of the Syrian refugees.