The overall objective of the TEMPER project consists of providing a comprehensive assessment of the pros and cons of recent initiatives to promote circular migration as an alternative to both more traditional forms of temporary and permanent migration, not only among prospective migrants but also among current residents in the EU. These initiatives rely, however, in a poor understanding of the ultimate reasons why some migrants spontaneously return to their country of origin while others do not; and even more, why some of them to re-migrate after return.

More importantly, it is far from being clear that circular migration actually responds to the needs and expectations of many (potential) migrants from third-country nationals, and entails for them and their families more benefits than alternative forms of mobility. To overcome this lack of understanding, the
TEMPER project will pursue three main objectives: (1) to identify the main drivers of return and circulation decisions of migrants recently involved in temporary and permanent migration, 2) to measure and explain the role that different programs and immigration policies at large have played in shaping those individual decisions and, (3) to assess the impact that different types of temporary, permanent and circular mobility have for migrant and non-migrant workers, their families and their employers.

The implicit assumptions that circularity is a realistic alternative to both strictly temporary labour and permanent settlement because there exist a large enough pool of prospective migrants and returnees interested in engaging in circular mobility, and that it benefits the involved parties, including migrants, their families and their areas of origin, more than traditional forms of migration, will be tested.