Return is an integral part of the international migration regime of the Philippines, but it is the phase in the ‘migration cycle’ that is least understood. Given that much of international migration is characterized by temporary labour migration, a certain class of balik manggagawa (migrant worker returnee) emerged as a means to capture the vacationing labour migrants or those engaged in return visits. However, little systematic information exists to document the scale, composition, trajectories, and outcomes of these returns (and return visits). As a result, there is a disjuncture between the return needs of the broader set of overseas Filipino workers with the reintegration policies meant to help them (Saguin 2019). This paper seeks to address this gap by conducting a latent class analysis of over 2,500 returnees, defined here as an overseas Filipino worker prior to the last 12 months who were in the country at the time of survey either for vacation or permanent residence.. Our research is motivated by the following question: Who are the returnees? How do returnees vary in terms of their preparedness and willingness to return? Our concern is motivated by the idea that successful return has been argued to be driven by individual preparedness (Cassarino 2004), which can be divided into social, financial (savings, assets, etc.) and programmatic preparedness (access to government programs). The paper not only captures the under-researched aspects of return migration in the Philippines but also serves to appraise the relevance and responsiveness of reintegration and social protection programs of the Philippines.
