Remigration is described as an "Identitarian" political concept that promotes the return of non-ethnically European immigrants to their countries of origin.
It is also often unfairly characterised as "far-right" or even "Neo-Nazi." This is "explained" by saying that remigration involves the "enforced" repatriation of migrants. But if that is the case, then "migration" is also "enforced" because migrants are simply reacting to incentives in both cases.
It is also often unfairly characterised as "far-right" or even "Neo-Nazi." This is "explained" by saying that remigration involves the "enforced" repatriation of migrants. But if that is the case, then "migration" is also "enforced" because migrants are simply reacting to incentives in both cases.
The blatant attempt to use emotional buzzwords like "enforced," "far-right," and "Neo-Nazi" is proof of the attempt by certain political and financial interests to remove this issue from the realm of popular democratic discussion.
Proving that remigration is not inextricably linked to forcing people to repatriate is the fact that it already exists as a very real phenomenon completely independent of political policy. At date of writing, no European country has policies that can be described as "remigrationary." But natural and organic remigration exists all the same, as we can see by examining the UK's migration data.
The British government doesn't actually keep very strict accounts when it comes to migration. Instead, it relies on rough estimates and then, later, more refined and hopefully accurate estimates.
Recently the UK government's Office for National Statistics released its rough estimates of long-term immigration for year ending June 2024. It was 1.2 million, of whom a million were non-EU nationals (86%). This was slightly down on the previous year, the year ending June 2023.
Due to the passage of time, however, these figures are now supposedly more accurate, so we will use those.
In the year ending June 2023, gross migration to the UK was 1,463,000. This number is reached by adding the net migration figure of 906,000 to the 557,000 people who emigrated during the same period.
These 1.46 million immigrants include 700,000 non-EU arrivals (international students, work visas and their dependents), 172,000 on "humanitarian and special pathways" visas, 91,000 "family reunification" visas, and 152,000 EU nationals.
These four categories only add up to 1,115,000. The additional 348,000 is made up of other migration categories, like short-term migrants, returning British nationals (i.e. foreign-born and those returning to the UK after living abroad for work or study), additional specific visas for refugees or people on temporary humanitarian status, and people on temporary visas who nevertheless added to the broader migration numbers (possibly by overstaying?).
These four categories only add up to 1,115,000. The additional 348,000 is made up of other migration categories, like short-term migrants, returning British nationals (i.e. foreign-born and those returning to the UK after living abroad for work or study), additional specific visas for refugees or people on temporary humanitarian status, and people on temporary visas who nevertheless added to the broader migration numbers (possibly by overstaying?).
What is interesting with regard to the idea of remigration, however, is the 557,000 people who emigrated or left the UK in the same year. This figure was made up of 233,000 British nationals leaving the UK (46% of the total), 202,000 EU nationals (36% of the total) and 122,000 non-EU nationals (22% of the total).
Yes, that is 122,000 non-EU migrants voluntarily choosing to "remigrate" themselves without any specific UK government policies to promote or enforce that.
This means that remigration is already happening and that a few relatively minor adjustments in things like welfare laws, employment regulations, accommodation requirements, etc. could easily turn that trickle into a flood, if only the political will was there or, barring that, if life in the UK became a lot less attractive due to various financial and economic constraints, such as a downturn in the economy or the collapse of Britain's ability to provide various welfare services.
This means that remigration is already happening and that a few relatively minor adjustments in things like welfare laws, employment regulations, accommodation requirements, etc. could easily turn that trickle into a flood, if only the political will was there or, barring that, if life in the UK became a lot less attractive due to various financial and economic constraints, such as a downturn in the economy or the collapse of Britain's ability to provide various welfare services.
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Colin Liddell is the Chief Editor of Neokrat and the author of Interviews & Obituaries, a collection of encounters with the dead and the famous. As there is absolutely zero reward for writing honest content like this, support his work by buying his book here (USA), here (UK), and here (Australia). or by taking out a paid subscription on his Substack.
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