Return aspirations and the life course of refugees in Germany

Return aspirations are determined by a highly complex set of interacting factors that may encourage or discourage migrants to return to their countries of origin. Most previous research has focused on the return aspirations of migrants in general, but little is known about the return aspirations of refugees. In this project, we aimed to investigate the relationship between return aspirations and the life course of refugees living in Germany, firstly by examining the impact of demographic events such as child rearing, family formation and changes in household structure on refugees’ return aspirations, and secondly, by considering the additional, as yet unexplored factor of prior migration trajectory, and in particular, its complexity. The project combined quantitative analysis with semi-structured and biographical interviews that  allowed us to explore in-depth the migration trajectories of refugees, and the ways in which these intersect with subjective perceptions, spaces and experienced temporalities.

While the return of migrants in general has been researched relatively intensively, there is little reliable evidence regarding the return aspirations of refugees. Furthermore, the influence of previous migration trajectories has not yet been sufficiently taken into account.

1. To investigate the additional influence of more or less complex migration trajectories on return decisions. 
2. To gain a deeper understanding of refugees’ subjective perceptions, spatial references, and temporal experiences regarding return. 
3. To conceptualize and compare ‘supported return’ across various European countries. 

Various approaches are used to address different research questions, including a mixed methods design that combines quantitative analyses of life courses and household data with qualitative biographical interviews to reconstruct migration pathways and their significance for return aspirations.

1. The migration trajectories of refugees in Germany are highly heterogeneous and fragmented. Their past life events and (im)mobility experiences, in turn, shape the internal negotiation processes that inform their life perspectives and aspirations. 
2. Ideas of return or remigration serve as a coping strategy for managing challenges in the country of residence. Whether these ideas then translate into concrete plans depends crucially on how refugees interpret their past mobility experiences: was previous mobility associated with opportunity or with loss? 
3. A comprehensive and comparative study of 45 assisted return programs in 27 EEA countries demonstrates the diverse ways in which assisted return is used and instrumentalized across European states. This is evident, for example, in the centralization and distribution of roles among actors, target groups, and the definition of purpose and objective. 
4. The research exploring the experiences of Ukrainian mothers in Germany shows that acts of solidarity, both given and received, have become essential components for navigating motherhood in contexts of displacement. 
5. The accounts of our Afghan, Eritrean, and Ukrainian refugee interlocutors in Berlin reveal how experiences of temporality and loneliness are deeply intertwined. Temporality emerges both as rupture and suspension through a sudden flight, long asylum procedures, or temporary protection schemes. These temporal regimes condition the horizons within which life plans unfold, whether the hope is to reunite with family, secure stable housing, or (re)build professional and educational paths.  
6. Despite the significant differences in our interlocutors’ migration trajectories from Afghan, Eritrean and Ukrainian interviewees share certain experiences of forced displacement. The long waiting periods that the Afghan and Eritrean endure drain energy, foster frustration over lost time, and leave them “stuck in mobility”.  Ukrainians, while able to access services in Berlin more swiftly, face the precarity of temporary protection and the emotional strain of family separation, rendering them “stuck in place”. 

• Fuchs, L. M. (2025). Assisted return programmes across Europe–Mapping an increasingly obscure landscape. International Migration, 63(3), e70032. 
• Rock, J., & Yanaşmayan, Z. (2025). Motherhood on the move: forced migrant women from Ukraine. Journal of Refugee Studies, 38(3), 690-703. 
• Rock, J. ‘Perspectives on Refugeehood and Motherhood: Germany-Based Ukrainians’ Life Aspirations over Time,’ Nationalities Papers, 2025, 1-19. 
   
  Rock, J. & Sharp, R. ‘Manifestations of (Mis)recognition Amongst Germany-based Refugee Women from Ukraine,’ Journal of International Migration and Integration, 2025, 1-19.  
• Rock, J., Fuchs, L. M. & Hagos, S. Z. ‘“Alone in Berlin”: A Comparative Analysis of Afghan, Eritrean, and Ukrainian Communities,’ in Ahmet İçduygu and Ricard Zapata Barrero (eds), Cities and Forced Displacement: Challenges, Governance, and People’s Voices in the Middle East and Beyond, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, forthcoming 2026, accepted for publication 21 May 2025.