Repatriation
“Repatriation” is often used to make return sound clean and consensual. The mechanism matters: who chose, under what pressure, and whether return is lawful and safe.
Definition
Repatriation is returning a person to their country of nationality or habitual residence. It can be voluntary or coerced depending on the pathway and conditions.
Technical meaning vs common usage
Technical (humanitarian context): for refugees, repatriation should be voluntary and consistent with protection against return to danger.
Common usage: any “sending people back,” including deportation.
How the term gets stretched or misused
The term gets misleading when:
forced returns are described as “returns” without coercion context
voluntary return, deportation, and repatriation are treated as interchangeable
safety constraints are omitted (return-to-danger is treated like logistics)
Where the power sits
The binding constraints are structural:
State authority: who can stay, who must leave
Protection rules: limits on return to danger in covered contexts
Adjudication/review: who can contest return, under what standards
Documentation/logistics: travel documents, coordination, transport capacity
This does not mean…
Return is voluntary.
Return is automatically lawful.
Return is safe.
Why precision matters
When repatriation is used as a euphemism, accountability breaks. Precision forces the real question: who decided return, under what authority, and with what safeguards against harm?
Neutrality note
This definition describes repatriation as a return process governed by legal and administrative rules, not as an endorsement or critique of return policies, voluntariness, or outcomes.
Related HISW
Words Matter: Voluntary Return; Deportation; Refugee; Asylum Seeker
Sources
Sources below explain how repatriation operates as a legally and administratively defined return process.
International Organization for Migration — Glossary on Migration (2019) https://www.iom.int/glossary-migration
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees — Handbook on Voluntary Repatriation (1996) https://www.unhcr.org/publications/manuals/handbook-voluntary-repatriation.html