O razlozima iseljavanja iz Hrvatske do sada se najčešće pisalo s aspekta politike useljavanja u pojedine države, a manje politike iseljavanja iz domovine. Ovim se radom stoga žele pokazati razvojne faze iseljeničkoga režima u socijalističkoj Jugoslaviji/Hrvatskoj, što će se pratiti preko angažmana mjerodavnih institucija u Hrvatskoj s posebnim naglaskom na ulogu Komisije za iseljenička pitanja. U analizi će poslužiti fondovi Hrvatskoga državnog arhiva vezani uz institucije (uprava i javne službe), pisma iseljenika za emisiju Radio-televizije Zagreb „Našim građanima u svijetu”, kao i anketni upitnici radnika na privremenom radu u Saveznoj Republici Njemačkoj. Na temelju navedenih izvora želi se dokazati da se vlast u socijalističkoj Hrvatskoj brinula o sudbini iseljenika i povratnika, ali i radnih migranata (gastarbajtera), otvarajući prostor za ono što danas nazivamo javno-privatnim partnerstvom u pružanju usluga migrantima. The reasons for emigration from Croatia have thus far been analysed mostly from the aspect of immigration policy, but less often from the aspect of the policies of emigration to individual countries. Therefore, it was not even possible to monitor the continuity of Croatian policy towards the emigration, whose connections with previous periods significantly influenced the phases of emigration and return of the population in the socialist period. Precisely for this reason, the aim of this paper is to present a broader picture of the reaction of socialist Yugoslavia/Croatia to the emigration and the return of the population in the period from 1945 to 1970. This was monitored through the reactions of the government and the administrative apparatus (institutions and legislation), with special reference to the involvement of relevant institutions (administrations and public services) in Croatia, which played a key role in organising activities related to emigration and return. Among them, the Commission for Emigrant Issues stood out the most, having one of the more complex roles related to emigration/return observed through its scope, adopting normative acts, and cooperating with other institutions in Croatia (Croatian Heritage Foundation, Radio-Television Zagreb, Institute for Migration, Section of Social Psychology, University of Zagreb). Of particular interest was the cooperation with the last on the development of an emigrant survey, which was the beginning of sociological, economic, and socio-psychological research on the phenomenon of work outside the homeland (or guest worker experience). Based on the analysis, we prove that the government in socialist Croatia cared about the fate of emigrants and returnees by making room for what we now call public-private partnerships in providing services to emigrants—in other words, that emigration policy played an important role in building a welfare state in Yugoslavia/Croatia. Therefore, the approach to the topic was based on works in the field of social policy, while the analysis was made using the funds of the Croatian State Archives related to institutions (administrations and public services), letters from emigrants for the Radio-Television Zagreb show To Our Citizens in the World, and survey questionnaires for temporary workers in the Federal Republic of Germany.