Transnational Tongans:The Profile and Re-integration of Return Migrants

Abstract

This study contributes to the 'unwritten chapter' in migration studies, namely transnational return migration, with specific reference to Tongan migrants who have voluntarily returned to live in Tonga. Return migration of transnational Tongans is not 'permanent' as their mobility pre and post-return is characterised by circulation or repeated return rather than staying at 'home'.

In examining the circulation of transnational Tongans, two new forms of return migration are identified -- 'return for career advancement' and 'ancestral return'. These additions to a new typology of return migration represent better the contemporary mobility system of transnational Tongans and suggest a means for addressing 'brain drain' through strengthening the 'Tongan-ness' of the diaspora while simultaneously stimulating economic development in the Kingdom. Despite these positive dimensions of return, re-integration is a 'bumpy' process, and there needs to be a holistic migration strategy if greater numbers in the Tongan diaspora are to return and make their potential contribution to sustainable development in the Island Kingdom.