According to the research paper, a combination of economic, ecological, and socio-political factors drove people to leave their countries of residence and return to their area of ethnic origin.
Government policy seeks to restore historical justice and describe the colonial past that forced people to flee Kazakhstan.
For instance, in December 2008 it adopted the Nurly Kosh (Bright Move) program, aiming to effectively situate immigrants, as well as repatriates, with employment and housing.
This cultural division between native Kazakhs and Oralman has complicated the nation-building process, but it is likely to no longer be an issue by 2025, once Kazakhstan officially completes its transition from Cyrillic to Latin script.
[9] Oralman often face difficulty integrating into the labor market and communicating due to insufficient command of the Russian language, which remains an important Lingua Franca in Kazakhstan.
Many locals espouse critical perceptions of repatriates, raising the questions “Why does the government give people from China and Mongolia so much money?"
A rising sense of nationalism and cultural identity has been observed in Kazakhstan since the beginning of the Ukrainian Crisis of 2014, which was a trigger event for the Kazakh government to expand its repatriation efforts and promote the strengthening of its nation-building program.
On the other hand, instability in the society will only grow worse if new immigrants continue to arrive while the integration of those who already have settled barely proceeds, and their social problems remain unsolved.
Kazakhstan finds itself caught in a dilemma: because of its ethnic roots and decolonization agenda, Kazakh repatriation policy cannot be easily abandoned even if it creates more problems than benefits.
According to E. Erickson's theory of identity[citation needed], the one's self-image integrates with the surrounding world, which can manifest into successful sublimations, active protective mechanisms, preferable potentials, etc.
Ethnicity plays an important role in issues of personal and group identity in Kazakhstan, as it forms the basis for understanding objective characteristics features such as place of birth, language, socioeconomic status, race, etc.
Other factors influence repatriate identity, such as ethnic-linguistic identification, including the level of proficiency in their language, socio-economic situation, and residence area.
[13] The 2011 labor worker strike massacre in the city of Zhanaozen in the Mangistau Region brought negative public opinion towards the Oralman, who allegedly provoked the killing.
According to Oka Natsuko in A Note on Ethnic Return Migration Policy in Kazakhstan: Changing Priorities and a Growing Dilemma, the Zhanaozen incident indicated that the government had failed to create an effective scheme for utilizing labor and satisfying the needs of Kazakh immigrants.