This article examines PhD students’ migration plans and strategies, their development over time, and the circumstances of their potential or real return within the changing life course context. The research is based on a longitudinal qualitative study conducted over six years (2012–17) among 21 international PhD students coming from developing countries, studying in the Netherlands. Results are discussed in the context of a cultural shift and the migration–development nexus. We argue that: (1) strong feelings of responsibility towards both their family and the development of their country of origin are leading factors shaping their migration strategies; (2) specialisation of their research project and its applicability in the home country also importantly influences their return potential; and (3) an apparent moral responsibility towards the home society and a willingness to help countries of migratory origin was growing stronger over the observation time (in harmony with post-materialist values the informants gained when studying in the Netherlands) along the progressing life course, which creates a broad potential for brain gain.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>International PhD students from developing countries carry potential for brain gain.</li><br /><li>Specialisation of the PhD research topic influences their return migration strategies.</li><br /><li>Willingness to help home countries was growing stronger over the longitudinal observation of the life course.</li></ul>

Within the concept of transnationalism and global development, migration decisions of international students play a vital role. This article draws on 21 in-depth interviews with PhD students coming from 16 different countries across the world, who are studying at the Wageningen University in the Netherlands. The study explores the diverse factors influencing migration decisions and potential intentions of return. The results suggest that there is a specific influence of the life-cycle phase and the family considerations on the predictability and direction of respondents’ future migration steps. Migration decisions of the interviewed PhD students with children tend to be strongly driven by responsibility towards their families and institutions, while a permanent return is very likely. The single and childless PhD students expressed individual freedom and professional opportunities as essential driving forces in their temporal migration decisions with their future migration destination being less predictable.