This paper explores the factors that determine a farm household migration decision, particularly the influence of the current land tenure system in China. Land endowment per labour is used to measure farm size. Reallocation times and expectation of future land reallocation are used to measure the land reallocation situation. Data used in this study are from a farm household survey conducted in 2009 in 17 villages in Northeast Henan province. By using a Heckman two‐stage model, the empirical findings show that there are some differences in terms of the magnitude and direction of determinants significantly affecting the decision to migrate and its duration. China's land tenure arrangements are based on egalitarian land distribution and frequent reallocation stimulates rather than deters migration in the case of land rental market imperfections. However, it is the main reason for the unique temporary and individual migration patterns. With the development of land rental markets, the importance of land transferability becomes prominent. Policies aimed at improving land security and promoting land transfer will also benefit rural labour emigration. Other factors that also have significant influence on labour migration are household size, number of household dependents, household assets and whether a household has a land‐use contract. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.