Lots of them came back under Napoleon, others under the restoration, and others stayed for good, largely in the US, the German states, and Britain.

There were three waves of emigres returning. The first was during Napoleon's empire, where any useful old nobles were invited back to France, re-ennobled, and given a task. They had the skills needed to run government and the military, and Napoleon, a minor noble himself with aspirations to dynastic hegemony, wanted to establish credibility among the other noble families of Europe. Two thirds of Napoleon's officers were old nobles.

However, there was a smaller group of nobles who were still "blacklisted", so to speak, consisting of the immediate associates of the bourbon pretenders. Many of these nobles returned with the restoration, but not all.

The truth was that for many old nobles, there was nothing to return to. Unless you were part of the restorationist movement and the Bourbons "owed" you for your services, or you were otherwise well connected, there was no guarantee of your lands being returned. The Law of Indemnity during the reign of hardline King Charles X compensated those who lost lands in the revolution, but largely in cash instead of in land. Subsequently, under the more liberal King Louis-Philippe, many old emigre families lost their posts in the inner circle of the Bourbons and in the government, and the King could not care less about their cause.

The restoration government had to make peace with its enemies to rule. Both Fouche and Talleyrand, among other Bonapartists, were both involved in politics after the restoration, and the Bourbons appropriated the Bonapartist bureaucracy and connections with business. Lands formerly owned by aristocrats were now in use by people the Bourbons might not have liked, but who they needed. It was an uphill battle requiring political connections to get compensation for an emigre's loss.