The Dutch “Blue Birds” circular migration pilot was initiated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. The pilot was an experiment under the Dutch Migration and Development policy in which circular migration is one of the priorities and aimed at researching whether circular or temporary labour migration can create a triple win situation for migrants, sending countries and receiving country. Furthermore the pilot was expected to provide clarity regarding, risk, possibilities and difficulties or impossibilities involved in circular migration. Finally the pilot was intended to explore if circular migration can be used as a tool for development cooperation. The circular migration pilot was designed to bring in 200 middle skilled workers from two different developing countries to work in the Netherlands for a maximum of two years. Circular migrants were intended to obtain training and practical experience in the Netherlands which could strengthen the migrant’s personal competences and bring development to home countries or communities.
migration-mgsog@maastrichtuniversity.nl