This article concerns emigrants who returned to Kerala between May and December 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. We study and document the experiences of 1985 return emigrants (REM) through a quantitative survey conducted via Computer-Assisted Telephonic Interviews. The study utilises a comparative classificatory framework that categorises return emigrants into three groups: normal REM, distressed REM, and REM who returned to re-emigrate. While the REM have been a demographically, politically, and economically significant component of Kerala’s population, the COVID-19 REM represent a unique case in history that has the potential to not only affect the economy, society, and psyche of Kerala for many years to come, but to also provide valuable insights into the future of global labor migration governance.