Images of departure and arrival are closely linked to immigration and emigration. Numerous historical photographs show, for example, Turkish "guest workers" leaving Istanbul and arriving in Munich in the 1960s. Railway stations, trains, people with suitcases, disorder, curiosity and fear characterize these documentary photographs. Images of crowded train stations circulated in the media and translated migration as a journey without arrival in the target countries - the journey finding its representative symbol in the suitcase, often exhibited in migratory exhibitions. Counterparts to these arrival images were photographs from the 1980s, as Turkish "guest workers" received high return premiums when they left Germany. Photographers such as Brigitte Kraemer or Manfred Vollmer accompanied families during their exodus from their homes. This essay compares the historical photographs with contemporary media representations of arriving refugees and asks about differences and analogies: Is there an overarching imagery for the transitive state of immigration? What formulates the shots? And is art able to produce counter images?