57 MARTINDALE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISE lows a foreign worker with temporary residence who becomes unemployed and is not at fault to register with the service. Although the CES provides unemployment and job search support, foreign workers lose access to these measures once permits expire or unemployment benefits end. Neither are temporary foreign workers in the registry eligible for active employment programs (World Bank Group, 2025), highlighting another way in which policies for TCNs emphasize temporary contributions without fully reflecting the lasting potential of foreign workers. Although options for long-term residency and pathways to citizenship exist, integration support remains underdeveloped (e-Citizens Information and Services, n.d.; Ministry of the Interior, n.d.; World Bank Group, 2025), demonstrating the need for a policy that fosters migration and integration. As with emigration, these initiatives cannot be merely reactive; they should view immigration as more than a source of labor supply. Improvements to goals and implementation To build a coherent national migration strategy that enhances both return migration and integration of TNCs, Croatia can draw lessons from the demonstrated success of neighboring countries. In looking at return migration in the EU, Poland provides a similar example to Croatia. Following its 2004 accession, Poland experienced emigration from its young, highly educated population from regions with less developed labor markets (Kaczmarczyk et al., 2020). Early policies to promote return migration included online services, removing barriers for return (avoiding double taxation, tax incentives, investment allowance, recognition of foreign credentials, and easier path to Polish citizenship), supporting children’s integration into the educational system, training for employees of institutions that interact with returnees, and informational campaigns to support return and integration into the labor market. These policies were seen as a response to reverse migration, thus supporting reintegration upon rearrival (Lesińska, 2013). More recently, Poland created the Government Strategy for Cooperation with the Polish Community and Poles Abroad for 2025–2030, which focuses on supporting professional, educational, and research mobility programs; teaching Polish; and improving coordination (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2025), demonstrating that reverse migration is a topic that Poland continues to revisit. Croatia seems to have recognized this approach by including plans to continue building on its preexisting policies in its updated demographic framework. Addressing migration cannot be the only approach. In Poland’s case, emigration allowed the potential for structural labor market transformation through public policy, especially on a local level, but it has been argued that Poland may not have fully utilized this opportunity (Kaczmarczyk et al., 2020). More recently, Poland had a notable increase in return migration from 2021 to 2022, which could be attributed to GDP growth and professional opportunities from large tech companies or the continuation of previous return migration trends delayed by COVID-19 (European Commission…, 2025). Croatia appears to be on a similar positive trajectory with its 3.8% GDP growth rate in 2024 (World Bank Group, n.d.-b) and the return migration incentives described previously. The number of international migrants with Croatia citizenship immigrating to Croatia has been increasing in recent years, and the number of emigrants decreased from 2022 to 2024 (Croatian Bureau of Statistics, 2025b). Croatia can look to Poland as a prior example and for factors that affect its reverse migration and the updated policy it creates. Yet work remains. To better support its labor market long term, Croatia should consider areas where more dramatic change is possible, specifically, strengthening the support and integration of TCNs (World Bank Group, 2025). As discussed previously, the Demographic Revitalization Strategy identifies both a comprehensive migration policy and better integration measures for its implementation, falling under the broad initiative of population mobility. In October 2025, Croatia adopted the Migration and Asylum Management Plan for the Period Until 2030 and the Implementation Action Plan for the Period Until 2027 (Odluka o donošenju…, 2025). Its five goals include prevention of illegal crossings, creating an effective asylum system, promoting legal immigration, integration of people with international protection, and improving cooperation with nonEU countries (Ministry of the Interior, 2025). These goals are important and pressing aspects of migration, but they focus more on those seeking international protection and less on work-related migration. Slovenia’s comprehensive migration strategy is an example of one that incorporates integration and work-related migration. In 2019, Slovenia framed its approach as multifaceted and comprehensive over the long term, focusing on six pillars. Economic
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