Expert: Re-emigration Policy Should Focus on Jobs, Not Short-Term Benefits
Economist Edgars Voļskis says Latvia's policy for returning emigrants should prioritise jobs and business development rather than short-term payments. Data on Poland shows returns there are far smaller than claimed in Saeima election debates.
Latvia is again discussing re-emigration, the return of nationals living abroad, after the campaign for the 15th Saeima (parliament) election. Edgars Voļskis, a doctor of economics, argues that support covering only a few months will not keep people in the country, and names jobs and business development as the key factors. Latvia's net migration balance remains negative: it stood at –1,291 in 2025.
Poland's example is less striking
In pre-election debates, Poland was cited as a success story. Ainārs Šlesers (LPV) said 100,000 people return there every month, while Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs (AS) put the figure at 55,000 and linked it to tax breaks for returnees.
The data show smaller scales. According to Poland's Central Statistical Office, 1.5 million Poles were living abroad at the end of 2025, 21,000 fewer than in 2024. Poland's 2024 government migration strategy also acknowledges that the state has no real instruments to encourage its diaspora to return. Economic growth has effectively become Poland's re-emigration policy: GDP per capita rose from 47% of the EU average in 2004 to 81% in 2025.
How Latvia's policy works
The Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development (VARAM) explains that re-emigration support rests on a plan for work with the diaspora. It includes information support, consultations from regional coordinators and funding for returnee-run businesses. In 2025, 24 applicants received funding, leading to 16 new businesses and eight jobs.
From 2021 to 30 September 2026, coordinators prepared 14,752 individual offers, and 4,925 people returned to Latvia with their help. The ministry considers these targets met. On average 7,425 returnees come back each year, compared with 5,785 in 2013–2017.
The expert's recommendations
Voļskis notes that payments alone do not work: a person can spend the money within six months and leave again. In his view, employers should define the skills they need and provide training, while the state should supply support mechanisms. He does not favour the income tax cut proposed by the National Alliance. On housing, he says long-term support is needed, for example help with a mortgage down payment through Altum, and he stresses the integration of families.
VARAM says the decision to return is mainly driven by personal and family circumstances, while support measures help carry out that decision.
