Turning back to Turkey - or Turning the Back on Germany? Remigration Intentions and Behavior of Turkish Immigrants in Germany between 1984 and 2011

This contribution analyzes whether remigration intentions and actual remigration to their homeland on the part of Turkish migrants to Germany have evolved over time, and if so, why. To do so, event-history analysis is applied to data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP). Findings reveal an increase in remigration intentions as well as rates of return for first generation migrants after the turn of the millennium. Before that, both such intentions and rates of actual return had declined, mostly as a consequence of integration in Germany. Those migrants who plan to return have a stronger emotional attachment to Turkey than those who plan to stay. However, the two groups differ neither with respect to their educational levels nor in terms of their perceptions of discrimination. There are similar findings with respect to the small though slightly increasing group of immigrants who actually returned to Turkey. It is thus argued that rising remigration intentions and actual remigration among first-generation migrants are unrelated to their integration into German society and are probably triggered by social change in their country of origin.