The main goal of this study is to compare and show the social reality of two migrant groups in Germany - Gastarbeiter and transmigrants. This paper compares the two groups according to the motives of departure, integration into German society, the transnational dimension of migrant activities and their return plan. An insight into the individual experiences of Croatian migrants in Germany was obtained by using a qualitative interview method. Six interlocutors participated in the research, three of whom belong to the migrant group of Gastarbeiter and three belong to the migrant group of transmigrants. The analysis and interpretation of the obtained answers showed that Gastarbeiter and transmigrants have the most similarities in the motives for leaving and that Gastarbeiter are less integrated into German society compared to transmigrants. Furthermore, it shows that Gastarbeiter maintained more intense transnational ties with their country of origin compared to the transmigrant migrant group. The value of this paper is that no research that deals with this topic has been conducted. Moreover, the contemporary migration wave to Germany is a scientifically unexplored topic, and this paper could serve as a starting point for further research into the contemporary migration wave to Germany.