THE stories of Jamaicans migrating to foreign lands in droves yearly are plenty, as evidenced by the steady increase in the numbers since 2020, but many are also choosing to return to The Rock — driven by a longing to reconnect with the island’s unique culture, warm people and lush landscape.

In the last year alone, a consultant specialising in relocation services for returning residents — Jacqueline Baker — has assisted more than 150 Jamaicans seeking to come back home.

In fact, according to Planning Institute of Jamaica’s Economic and Social Survey Jamaica (ESSJ), a total 943 Jamaicans who migrated voluntarily returned to the island in 2023. Though there was a dip in the number of Jamaicans who came back after migrating in 2022, by and large since 2019 the numbers have been steadily climbing.

In 2019, 721 Jamaicans returned to the island; 731 returned in 2020; 867 in 2021; and 789 returned in 2022, according to the latest statistics from the ESSJ.

These numbers are but a fraction when compared to those who have left, with more than 22,000 Jamaicans migrating to either the US, Canada or the UK in 2022, but Baker — herself a Jamaican who migrated and returned to the Caribbean island’s shores to live — said the pull of Jamaica’s charm is proving irresistible for many who have grown tired of living in a foreign land.

She told the Jamaica Observer that she came back to the island in 2021 after migrating in 1995. Sharing that in 2023 she decided to document the process of her return to Jamaica on her YouTube channel JET Setting with Jackie, she disclosed that the response from Jamaicans overseas seeking to return to the land of their birth was overwhelming.

“People were reaching out to me constantly like: ‘Hey, can you help me with this?’, ‘How do you do that?’ And a lot of them suggested that I start a business, because I was getting so many questions like, how did I do my shipping, how did I find my rental, and what my home-buying process was like,” she told the Sunday Observer.

Baker said she launched her consultancy business the following year. She added that many of her clients are also seeking to build a home before they return to the island, and she has received several requests to oversee the construction process for these houses.

“For a lot of persons coming back, it’s for [the] peace of mind that Jamaica provides. I think we Jamaicans don’t necessarily appreciate that part, and I don’t think we all understand what that feels like, but once you’ve migrated and lived overseas and dealt with the struggle of everyday life there, you tend to get a better appreciation for what Jamaica provides,” shared Baker.

“It’s just the warmness of people here, too. We have our bad, but the good outweighs the bad, so a lot of people are coming back for just the rest that you get when you are here. The heavy weight that you get when you are overseas is gone, and the naturalness, the beauty of Jamaica is here,” she added.

Jamaica Customs Agency, which has a portal on its website through which Jamaicans seeking to come back home can register and process their applications, classifies a returning resident as a Jamaican over 18 years old who has been residing overseas for more than three consecutive years and has returned to Jamaica to reside permanently.

Jamaicans who renounced their citizenship, want to return home, and can provide proof of their previous status are also classified as returning residents, as well as students who left the island to pursue an education overseas.

Returning residents are also given concessions on household items, vehicles younger than 10 years old, and other benefits to facilitate their transition back to their homeland.

According to Baker, the majority of persons with whom she has worked who are seeking to return home are between 25 and 54 years old. The younger individuals are often digital nomads who work remotely, giving them the freedom to travel and live in different countries, while the older individuals are those who have built their wealth in foreign countries and are seeking to return home and retire, she told the Sunday Observer.

The consultant added that the majority of her clients reside in the US, in cities such as Atlanta and New York. Her other clients are from Canada and the United Kingdom.

One of her clients, Kirk Johnson, a Jamaican living in the US, shared that he left Jamaica during his early teenage years because his parents were migrating. He said that while the transition was not his choice, it was an opportunity to build himself up. Now, he and his family are preparing themselves to come back home.

“Home is always home, and I have love and passion for Jamaica,” said Johnson, adding that he often returned to the island for vacation.

“Every time I came back, I went somewhere new and I loved it. I just enjoyed moving around, the experiences, and the people. It’s home; you just feel a difference, you feel comforted and at peace when you’re here,” he told the Sunday Observer, adding that this is one of the main reasons he and his family wanted to return.

Now in the process of building a place to call home, he shared that his mother will make the move to the island shortly, followed by him and his family.

Another Jamaican, Damion Quest, who left the island as a teenager, said he is now in his 40s and he never imagined spending the rest of his life overseas.

“Once I left Jamaica and I came to America, I realised instantly that America was not somewhere I wanted to spend the rest of my life. At the time, we didn’t have a telephone and things like that, so back then I would write a lot of letters to my mom just telling her that I’m not happy here, and she would tell me, ‘Just stick it out, you’ll like it,’ but my heart was always in Jamaica,” said Quest.

He shared that he went to school and sought to develop his skills, but made a note that by 2020 he would return home. Quest shared that he began the process in 2020 and by 2021 he was back in Jamaica.

“At the end of the day, I returned because I love my country and I missed my country,” he shared.

While he is grateful to be home, he shared that the transition was not as smooth as he’d anticipated.

“Coming back home, you have to pack your patience. You’re at the bank, and you have to sit there for two hours before you get served. You go to the tax office, and you have to spend the whole day before you get served,” said Quest.

He added that it was difficult for him to do business without any form of Jamaican identification and often had to request information and documents from overseas.

“If the system can just make it a little bit easier for us, given the fact that we’re coming back home and we don’t have every single thing that they might require… If we can prove we are who we say we are, give us a break until we can get the ID,” he said.

BAKER…the majority of persons with whom she has worked who are seeking to return to Jamaica are between 25 and 54 years old

According to Planning Institute of Jamaica’s Economic and Social Survey Jamaica, a total 943 Jamaicans who migrated voluntarily returned to the island in 2023.

The pull of Jamaica’s charm is proving irresistible for many who have grown tired of living in a foreign land, according to consultant Jacqueline Baker, who, in the last year, has assisted more than 150 Jamaicans seeking to return home.

For a lot of persons coming back, it’s the peace of mind that Jamaica provides.