Reverse immigration-Return

to India

US based Kelly Services, has recently issued a report, stating that about three lakh Indian professionals employed overseas may return to India by 2015.The reasons normally stated are, depressed economy in the west, greater advancement opportunities in India and the desire to return home to family and friends. Believe it or not, many immigrants in western countries have over the past few years decided to give up their immigrant status in their adopted countries. These people have moved back to the countries they immigrated from. Statistic Canada a respectable government department which gathers statistic information in Canada. Reported on March 1, 2006 that one third of all male immigrants who were between ages 25 to 45 when they immigrated to Canada had left within 20 years of their arrival. Further more 6 out of 10 of those who leave, do so within the first year of arrival! That is quite alarming when you consider the amount of effort taken by many people to plan to move abroad in the first place. Perhaps if these people had known before their initial move they would not have disrupted their lives and spent large amounts of money on visas, medicals and travel to move abroad in the first place.

Why are some immigrants leaving

their adopted countries

The simple explanation behind such a move may be: • The economic boom in the west is no longer there. The economy is slowing down. Hence making many immigrants reevaluate their priorities. • The economies of some developing countries are starting to pickup rapidly. • China and India are the two countries that come to mind immediately. While China still has political problems as far as a democratic country is concerned. India is a democracy and with a heated economy it is indeed making Indian immigrants in western countries start thinking about a potential move back to India. Many have already taken this step and yet many more are toying with return to India ideas.

POINTS TO CONSIDER

• We all have our own personal priorities and circumstances. Those considering a move need to take into account the other side of the equation. • Things may have changed since you last left India. What you experienced a decade ago probably has changed. • Pollution is a problem in India. Of course this would depend on where you decide to stay. Will your foreign born children be able to adapt to a new culture? This is for those of you who have not kept in touch with families in India for years at a time. • Your children have never visited India for a reasonable amount of time to get to know the real India. Visiting for two weeks is not enough time to know the daily living style. • Security is one of the major concerns and again this would to some extent depend on where you choose to live. • Your visa status abroad should also be considered. It is not a good idea to burn your bridges when leaving. You may decide to return at a later time.

WHY ARE INDIAN IMMIGRANTS

ABROAD RETURNING TO INDIA?

There is no simple answer for this. I will, however try and list some possible reasons here. The economic growth in the west has slowed down and in high labor cost countries like the United States and Canada the manufacturing sector is getting slowly and may I add steadily being wiped out. Many high priced immigrants and citizens are feeling the pinch as they loose good paying jobs as their companies move production to developing countries. Instead of accepting low paying jobs the only option left is to move back to their original countries. India on the other hand is doing very well economically. Many Indians have now come to realize that while two decades ago there may not have been opportunities in India to prosper, India now offers many opportunities. Some NRI's are starting to realizing that while there may be more money in the west. Day to day living is not that easy, especially for the elderly. Indians usually do have stronger family ties and some are homesick and wish to return to be with family and friends. While Canada and USA do not have a racism problem that is widely spread. Europe does have a certain degree of racism that pops up now and then in the news. Usually as economic situation worsens and unemployment becomes a factor, racism seems to show its ugly head in various forms. Immigrants start getting blamed for lack of jobs. During a conversation as to the reason of going back to India I was told by a gentleman, "I would rather live like a first class citizen in a third class country than to live like a third class citizen in a first class country." Where else but in India: • The barber will come to your house to give you a haircut. • Hire a chauffeur for approximately $100 a month. • Hire private tutors to teach your children at home. • Have bank officials, insurance agents etc come to your home to sign up for accounts. To sum it up, one can say with cheap labor for day to day help makes life a lot more comfortable for people with money in India. Many long time immigrants residing abroad have perhaps started to realize that with money on their hands they can afford to live a better and comfortable life back in India where domestic help is cheap and available. Some parents having problems with their children due to western values are pondering a move back to India where they think children behave better. In some cases families back in India or spouses unhappy with life overseas express desires to return to India. Regardless of what the reason is, quite a few Indian families have moved back and perhaps many are planning to return to their motherland in the future.