Exploring Return Migration in Croatia: The "Biram Hrvatsku" Project

06 November 2024

IAMO researcher Janine Pinkow-Läpple is participating in the research project titled "Biram Hrvatsku: Exploring the 'Return Migration and Development' Nexus in Croatia's Peripheral Regions." Initiated in May 2024 by the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences in Zagreb under the leadership of Dr. Caroline Hornstein-Tomic, the project is conducted in collaboration with Ana Budimir from the University of Zagreb. Funded by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, it addresses Croatia’s demographic and economic challenges, particularly in rural regions deeply affected by population ageing, emigration, and economic decline.

Since Croatia's independence, large-scale emigration, especially of young and skilled individuals, has led to a significant brain drain, intensifying socio-economic difficulties, affecting especially the country’s peripheral areas. Another wave of emigration followed Croatia’s EU accession in 2013, making the reversal of this trend a crucial policy goal. The "Biram Hrvatsku" initiative, launched by the Croatian government, seeks to encourage return migration to economically weaker and demographically shrinking areas. The project investigates the policy’s impact through case studies in local communities, focusing on returnees—mainly from Germany—and their contributions to local development. It explores the tangible and intangible resources returnees bring back, the challenges they face, and the specific role that the “Biram Hrvatsku” initiative plays in supporting them.

Early findings were recently presented at the conferences “In, out and in between. Transnational and internal migration in Southeast Europe” in Prishtina (Kosovo) and “From Croatia to Germany and Back? Transnational Migration and Social Change” in Zagreb (Croatia). The study reveals that while "Biram Hrvatsku" provides valuable support to return migrants, it is generally not the main driver for their return. Instead, improved economic conditions in Croatia are cited as the primary reason. Most interviewed beneficiaries expressed satisfaction with their decision to return and the support they received from the program. Additionally, they plan to remain in Croatia. The research highlights how returnees transfer valuable resources, including knowledge, new business ideas, and machinery, which can play an important role in revitalizing economically depleted rural areas.