<p>This study examines how quality of life (QoL) and national identity jointly shape the return aspirations of international students. Drawing on the aspiration–capabilities framework, it investigates how comparative evaluations of QoL in host and home countries influence return orientations, and whether ethnic and civic conceptions of national belonging moderate this relationship. Survey data were collected from international students (<i>N</i> = 212), measuring return aspirations, QoL across four domains (professional, socio-cultural, infrastructure and services, and institutional support), and ethnic and civic understandings of national identity. Comparative evaluations of quality of life consistently indicate that more favorable assessments of life in the host country are associated with weaker return aspirations. National identity does not exert a uniform moderating effect across all QoL domains; rather, moderation emerges selectively in the infrastructural and socio-cultural domains, while the professional and institutional domains operate largely independently of identity dispositions. These moderating effects are configuration-specific: distinct combinations of ethnic and civic identity modify how QoL evaluations translate into return aspirations, with particularly pronounced effects among students characterized by specific identity profiles rather than overall identity strength. Together, these findings suggest that national identity does not function as a direct driver of return aspirations, but instead conditions and reshapes the strength and direction of the relationship between perceived quality of life and return aspirations. By demonstrating that identity dispositions alter how perceived capabilities are converted into migration aspirations, the study extends the aspiration–capabilities framework.</p>