Top three factors influencing Ukrainians’ decision to return home: emotional connection, security, and family reunion – survey

For Ukrainians living abroad, the decision to return home is most influenced by the emotional connection with the Motherland, the restoration of security in their region, and the desire to reunite with their family.

Anastasiia Romaniuk, the analyst of the OPORA Civil Network, stated this at the Ukraine-Ukrinform Media Center during the presentation and discussion of the results of research on migration, media consumption, and social and political activity of displaced people.

"If we talk about what Ukrainians are guided by when exactly they will return to Ukraine, the three most popular factors motivate them to return. The first is an emotional connection with the Motherland, the second is the restoration of security in their region, and the third is reunification with the family," she said.

According to Romaniuk, OPORA analysts saw some age differences in this matter.

"For example, for younger respondents, the most important factor is the availability of work in Ukraine, while for older respondents, the most important factor is the restoration of security in their region. And for respondents over the age of 51, the emotional connection with Ukraine is still the most important." – said the analyst.

She reported that according to the research, most respondents have plans to return to Ukraine.

"But we saw a trend that their plans to return to Ukraine or not are also influenced by whether they have a high-paying job, whether they speak the local language, what kind of relations they have with the local population, etc.," Romaniuk said.

For reference:

The survey "Media consumption and public and political activity of Ukrainians abroad" was conducted according to analytical studies and commissioned by the OPORA Civic Network among Ukrainians in seven countries:

• Great Britain,
• Israel,
• Spain,
• Germany,
• USA,
• Hungary,
• the Czech Republic

As reported, according to the survey data on the intentions and prospects of Ukrainian refugees and IDPs, which was released on July 10 by the representative of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Ukraine, Karolina Lindholm Billing, 76% of respondents in EU countries and Moldova and 82% of internally displaced Ukrainians plan or hope to return home forever.

It should be noted that Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic sheltered most Ukrainians since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

Note that more than 70% of Ukrainians in Poland plan to return home in the future.