Definition(s)
- In the migration context: personal financial, in kind or social transfers of a migrant to their families or other beneficiary(ies) in their communities of origin which may flow through a variety of formal or informal channels to support their needs.
Source(s)
- Derived by EMN from Migration Data Portal and
- International Monetary Fund: Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, 6th ed. (BPM6), IMF, Washington, D.C., 2009
Translations
- BG: парични трансфери на емигранти
- CS: remitence
- DE: Rücküberweisung
- EL: έμβασμα
- EN: remittance
- ES: remesas
- ET: rahaülekanded
- FI: rahalähetys
- FR: envoi de fonds
- GA: seoltán
- HR: doznaka
- HU: hazautalás
- IT: rimessa
- LT: pinigų perlaidos
- LV: naudas pārvedumi
- MT: Trasferiment ta’ flus / Rimessa
- NL: geldovermaking / geldoverdracht / geldtransfer
- PL: przekazy pienieżne / transfery pieniężne
- PT: remessas
- RO: remitenţă
- SK: remitencie
- SL: nakazilo
- SV: överföring / remittering
- NO: pengeoverføringer (b); pengeoverføringar (n)
- KA: ფულადი გზავნილი
- UK: грошові перекази
- HY: դրամական փոխանցում
Related Term(s)
Note(s)
1. The International Organization of Migration (IOM) defines remittances in its Glossary on Migration 2019 as follows: Personal monetary transfers, cross border or within the same country, made by migrants to individuals or communities with whom the migrant has links, regardless of the source of the sender's income (e.g. salary, profits from business, savings, etc.). For more information see: IOM and remittances, infosheet.
2. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the leading provider of statistics on international remittances defines their two main components:
(1) Compensation of employees: Income earned by temporary migrant workers in the host country or the income of border, seasonal, and other short-term workers who are employed in an economy where they are not resident and of residents employed by non-resident entities. It is important to highlight that the entire income of temporary migrant workers is included in this definition, although the income may never actually be transferred (at least not entirely) to the country of origin as migrants still have to cover their own living costs.
(2) Personal transfers: Transfers in cash or in kind made or received by residents (be it migrants or non-migrants).
3. Additionally, there is a distinction between formal remittances captured in the above definitions and informal remittances, which are transfers made outside the formal financial system. Statistics on inter-national remittances normally only capture formal remittance flows.
4. Increasingly, the terms 'social remittances' or 'social capital transfers' are used for non-monetary values such as ideas, knowledge, knowhow, networking and skills that migrants can transfer to communities of origin.
5. For further information see: Migration Data Portal: remittances and Joint EMN-OECD inform: Impact of COVID-19 on re-mittances in EU and OECD countries.