Migration decision from Bangladesh: permanent versus temporary

More than 50% of the total migration from Bangladesh occurred from Sylhet, located to northern part of the country since the middle of the last century. This paper provides an empirical distinction between the temporary migrants (Bangladeshi citizens engaged in earning aboard) and the permanent migrants (those who have the dual citizenship) based on their cost conditions, earnings, and utilization of remittances in their country of origin. Temporary migrants’ educational status, per capita income allocation to family members, work experience before migration, source of income and income range are much lower compared with the permanent migrants. But, the dependency ratio, contribution to the family, remittances, risk etc. are higher for the permanent migrants than the temporary migrants. Cost of migration and the migration decision are inversely related. Migration costs determine individual’s decision to migrate permanently or temporarily. Our results suggest that higher migration cost reduces the probability of permanent migration.