Circular migration or repeat migration is the temporary and usually repetitive movement of a migrant worker between home and host areas, typically for the purpose of employment. It represents an established pattern of population mobility, whether cross-country or rural-urban. There are several benefits associated with this migration pattern, including gains in financial capital, human capital, and social capital. There are also costs associated with circular migration, such as brain drain, poor working conditions, forced labor, and the inability to transfer acquired skills to home economies. Socially, there are strong connections to gender, health outcomes, development, poverty, and global immigration policy.
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Circular migration in the context of Kiribati New Zealanders
Kiribati New Zealanders refers to New Zealand citizens or permanent residents or others with rights to reside pending move to permanent residency (e.g., by virtue of the Pacific Access Category of immigration (PAC)) who are fully or partially of I-Kiribati descent. According to the 2023 census, 4,659 New Zealanders declared their ethnicity as Kiribati. At present, there may be up to another 1,000 I-Kiribati in New Zealand on guestworker schemes such as the Recognised Seasonal Employment Scheme (RSE). This number has been down since the Covid-19 disruption but is recovering slowly. The Kiribati end of this circular migration was also affected by this disruption.