Abstract

Why would returnees move to the host country again, even if there is a reduction in income? Why would returnees voluntarily leave his homeland again to stay as a diaspora in the host country? These questions could not directly resolve from the existing literature that follows the logic of profit-maximizing or cultural integration. We observed a growing number of migrants who once settled in Canada, returned to Hong Kong, and re-returned to Canada in recent years. The puzzle, given the existing economic, cultural, and political models on return migration, is that the life-course transitions construct a perspective for re-returnees to prioritize the pull and push factors in the decision-making process. Drawing on semi-structured biographic-narrative interviews, we show how the family and life-course model intersects with existing theoretical models. We also illustrate how transnational networks and experiences play an essential role in the journey of re-return migration. As Hong Kong society turns increasingly tumultuous politically in recent decades, culminating massive social movements since 2011, our extended case study of Hong Kong re-returnees in Canada contributes to the theorization of the existing models to shred lights on the discussions of return migration.