Author: Iriana Freitas De Jesus Ximenes
Freitas De Jesus Ximenes, Iriana, 2025 Reintegration of returnee migrants: Temporary labour migration and the development nexus for Timor-Leste, Flinders University, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Terms of Use: This electronic version is (or will be) made publicly available by Flinders University in accordance with its open access policy for student theses. Copyright in this thesis remains with the author. You may use this material for uses permitted under the Copyright Act 1968. If you are the owner of any included third party copyright material and/or you believe that any material has been made available without permission of the copyright owner please contact copyright@flinders.edu.au with the details.
The reintegration of international labour migrant returnees has been challenging for a country like Timor-Leste as it has a significant youth population, limited employment opportunities, and the burden of multidimensional poverty. Since gaining independence in the year 2002, the Timorese government been grappling with the challenge of repairing the damage caused by nearly 500 years of colonisation struggling to put in place an economic development strategy that can offer sustainable livelihoods to its people. With the goal of lowering domestic unemployment and promoting economic growth through remittance flows, the government launched Temporary Labour Migration Programs (TLMPs) with neighbouring nations in response to chronic unemployment.
However, the TLMPs were initially designed mostly to prepare Timorese workers for work abroad, they do not adequately prepare them to return and reintegrate into Timorese society. The reintegration experiences of returnees have received relatively little or no attention in the research done on these programs which is mostly concentrated on remittances and their economic benefits. This thesis examines the reintegration of returnees, specifically focusing on participants in two TLMPs – the Australian Seasonal Worker Program (SWP) and South Korea's Employment Permit System (EPS) – between 2012 to 2022. The information and data for this thesis were gathered using a mix methods approach, comprising a sample survey with 571 participants and seven sessions of focus group discussions as a part of the Australian Research Council Linkage Project ‘Australian Seasonal Workers Program and wellbeing impacts in Timor-Leste’s Project no LP200100149’, conducted by a Flinders University research team. The fieldwork was conducted in Timor-Leste during 2022-23.
The results of this study show that the biggest obstacle to returnee’s economic reintegration is the small domestic job market and the lack of assistance for small business ventures. Many returnees fail to find employment and have no choice but to look into cyclical migration as a livelihood strategy. Further undermining their reintegration aspirations are sociocultural issues and the lack of coordinated reintegration assistance from both the sending and receiving governments. Additionally, with an emphasis on reintegration strategies this thesis critically examines Timor-Leste’s current migration and reintegration policies and incorporates a comparative analysis from international legal and policy frameworks governing TLMPs. In its conclusion a framework for reintegration policies that is specific to the Timorese context is suggested laying out a course for sustainable reintegration as a major component of the nation’s development agenda.
Keywords: Labour migration, Returnee reintegration,Temporary Labour Migration Programs, Australian Seasonal Worker Program,Employment Permit System, Labour migration Timor-Leste
Subject: Globalisation thesis
Thesis type: Doctor of Philosophy
Completed: 2025
School: College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Supervisor: Professor Udoy Saikia