It is increasingly being said that Croats are returning en masse from Germany, but the experiences of emigrants show that the story is far more complex.

According to Destatis data, just over 11,000 Croatian citizens moved to Germany last year, while more than 22,000 left it. Bruno Herljević wrote about these figures and the experiences of Croatian emigrants for dnevno.hr.

However, the statistics alone do not show where these people went or whether they returned to Croatia. That very question was raised by a Croatian woman in a discussion on Reddit, after she watched a television report about the alleged mass return of emigrants.

They did not go to Germany only for money

Among the responses, a Croat who has been living in Germany with his wife for ten years stood out. He claims they did not leave because of low income, since in Croatia he earned 16,000 kuna net, and his wife around 11,000 kuna. What was decisive for them, he says, were the mentality, the chaos, and the way society functions.

He states that today they both work 34 hours a week and have 38 days of annual leave. In the meantime, they bought and paid off an apartment which they now rent out, and built a house. Because of all this, they are not considering returning to Croatia at all, and they can visit family and friends several times a year.

Return is often prompted by family reasons

Participants in the discussion state that people most often return because of parents, inheritance, or the desire for children to be closer to their grandparents. One commenter claims that out of the eight families he knows, only one returned, while another says that many decide to leave again after a few months of living and working in Croatia.

A man also spoke up who returned in order to be closer to his elderly parents, but even he is not sure whether he will stay permanently. At the same time, he still works for his former German employer. His example shows that leaving Germany does not necessarily mean returning to Croatia, just as a return does not have to be final.