‘Return’ Migration Intentions among Second-Generation Turks in Europe: : The Effect of Integration and Transnationalism in a Cross-National Perspective

Data from The Integration of the European Second Generation (TIES) project were used to examine the determinants of ‘return’ intentions among the Turkish second generation in several European cities. Theory-derived hypotheses on the effects of economic and socio-cultural integration and transnational ties, and their variation according to policy regimes, were tested. The results highlight the dominance of transnational and sociocultural integration factors. Turkish second-generation migrants who had strong transnational ties with their parents’ country of origin, and those who were well-integrated in sociocultural terms, were more inclined to ‘return’. Interestingly, the level of economic integration had no significant effect. Although ‘return’ intentions varied across countries with different immigration and integration policies, no strong evidence was found for an interaction effect of policy regimes on the likelihood to express a ‘return’ intention.