Własna działalność gospodarcza jako element procesu readaptacji na przykładzie migrantów powracających z zagranicy do województwa podlaskiego

Due to its increasingly unstable nature, contemporary return migrations call into question the current definition of return as an anchor. The factors which enabled this situation are the opportunities to move within the European Union, the EU’s open labour markets, and free access to information. Empirical research shows that the most important capital of contemporary return migrants is no longer their savings but their experience connected to international migration, especially when the reality of the home country exceeds migrants’ expectations and possibilities to readjust after return. The text is based on the results of qualitative research conducted in Podlaskie among migrants who returned from abroad and decided to start their own business. Their migration experience constitutes an invaluable source of knowledge not only about the factors responsible for the decision to return but also about the process of readjustment, including the application of skills acquired abroad and the introduction of changes at home, especially in the context of self-employment. Based on the experience of return migrants it is also possible to follow the decision- making process concerning re-emigration which is often simply a return to the well- known country of migration or setting off for a new destination.