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A study of Migrant Returns and Readmission Policies

Return migration is one of the most contested issues in European politics — yet policymaking has long been shaped by only one side of the story. The GAPs project (2023–2026) sought to decentre this one-sided approach by bringing in the perspectives of origin and transit countries, local practitioners, civil society organisations, and migrants themselves — examining how return is really governed, and what fairer, more effective alternatives might look like.

 
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Which conversations are shaping return migration governance?

 
 
 
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Main deliverables

Highlights

The videos and narratives present recent research insights and lived experiences shared by project researchers and participants, translating complex analyses on migrant returns, readmission policies, and reintegration processes into engaging audiovisual formats.

Visual research outputs developed within the GAPS project present recent findings and key insights produced by researchers from partner institutions, translating complex analyses on migrant returns, readmission policies, and reintegration processes into focused visual formats.

GAPs Blogs brings together contributions from researchers across multiple countries, offering timely analysis on return migration, readmission policies, and reintegration challenges revealing the gaps between policy and practice

GAPs researchers have produced a substantial body of peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters across the project’s core themes, offering in-depth analysis and evidence to advance research on return migration, readmission policies, and reintegration processes.

The GAPs Online Course is a free, three-week programme on FutureLearn that makes the project’s core research accessible through expert videos, case studies, and interactive content, exploring return migration, governance, and migrants’ lived experiences.

This edited volume brings together contributions from GAPs researchers, examining the politics, infrastructures, and mobilities of coerced returns, and offering in-depth analyses of return migration, readmission policies, and reintegration processes across diverse contexts.

This anthology brings together co-authored stories with migrants and returnees, alongside analytical chapters by the editors, exploring themes of agency, belonging, and return infrastructures within the broader context of return migration and reintegration.

These two special issues (Issue 1) (Issue 2) bring together comparative and critical perspectives on return migration, examining reintegration processes, power dynamics, and relational approaches to better understand the complexities of return and migration governance.

GAPs Data Repository offers an overview of available qualitative and quantitative data on national return regimes. It is launched in 2024 as an output of the ‘GAPS: De-centring the Study of Migrant Returns and Readmission Policies in Europe and Beyond’ Project

 
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Related Projects

HORIZON EUROPE FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECTS ON RETURN MIGRATION AND LIVING CONDITIONS OF IRREGULAR MIGRANTS

GAPs works closely with six other Horizon Europe projects working on return migration and conditions of irregular migrants.

During its lifetime, GAPs will engage in several joint activities with these projects.

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