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The paper addresses the topic of determinants in German immigrants' regional location choice and its resulting demographic impact in Switzerland, in the context of freedom of movement within the EU/EFTA countries. Our analyses relied on the statistics of the foreign resident population. They covered the period from June 2002 to December 2009. German immigrants' characteristics were compared among the sixteen labour market regions of the country. The analyses confirmed current literature findings regarding the importance of migrant networks, regional attractiveness and geographical as well as cultural and linguistic proximity with the home country in the location choice. According to the "type of migrant" considered, these factors interacted however differently. Moreover, unemployment within Switzerland did not constitute a significant determinant of German immigration regarding their location choice. However, depending on the regional economic structure, different types of migrants were attracted, who presented varying dispositions to stay and settle down in Switzerland. Therefore, the demographic impact on the German as well as on the total population varied considerably between labour regions. The German-speaking and borderland regions accounted for up to twice as many German permanent residents in 2009 compared to 2002. Due to this increase, the regions encountered an important demographic growth. In Basel, Bern, St. Gallen or Chur, the increase of the German population was even higher than the growth of the rest of the permanent resident population. Our paper demonstrates the importance of considering different regions and types of migrants when trying to understand immigration and its impacts in a country like Switzerland. For various reasons, such as the linguistic diversity, the variety of economic structures and occupational activities as well as the regions' positions on the center-periphery scale, analyses at the national level remain insufficient.

This open access book provides insight on current patterns of migration in Switzerland, which fall along a continuum from long-term and permanent to more temporary and fluid. These patterns are shaped by the interplay of legal norms, economic drivers and societal factors. The various dimensions of this Migration-Mobility Nexus are investigated by means of newly collected survey data: the Migration-Mobility Survey. The book covers different aspects of life in the host country, including the family dimension, the labour market and political participation as well as social integration. The book also takes into account the chronological dimension of migration by considering the migrants' arrival, their stay, and their expectations regarding return. Through applying conclusions drawn from the Swiss context to the migration literature on other European and high-income countries, this book contributes to new knowledge on current migration processes in high-income countries. As such it will be a valuable reference work to scholars and students in migration, social scientists and policy makers.

This open access book provides insight on current patterns of migration in Switzerland, which fall along a continuum from long-term and permanent to more temporary and fluid. These patterns are shaped by the interplay of legal norms, economic drivers and societal factors. The various dimensions of this Migration-Mobility Nexus are investigated by means of newly collected survey data: the Migration-Mobility Survey. The book covers different aspects of life in the host country, including the family dimension, the labour market and political participation as well as social integration. The book also takes into account the chronological dimension of migration by considering the migrants' arrival, their stay, and their expectations regarding return. Through applying conclusions drawn from the Swiss context to the migration literature on other European and high-income countries, this book contributes to new knowledge on current migration processes in high-income countries. As such it will be a valuable reference work to scholars and students in migration, social scientists and policy makers.

In social demography the migrants' point of view regarding their migratory intentions is commonly studied using stated preferences, since it is viewed as one of the most reliable predictors of future behaviour. Recently scholars have begun to examine differences between various pre-move thoughts instead of considering just one simple act in the migration decision-making process. Examples include desires and expectations to move or considerations and plans to move.
However, few of the studies so far have addressed the central question of the factors intervening in the migration decision-making process of staying, returning or moving to another country altogether. Despite much excellent work on residential and international migration intentions, the subject of return or onward migration intentions has attracted little attention. Furthermore, the process of migration decision-making as such is understudied. Finally, existing studies generally considered the migrant population as a whole or focused on one specific type of migrant and did not compare different types of migrants. Yet, without an understanding of those dimensions we are left with an inadequate analysis of the current migration patterns and its drivers.
This study will contribute to the literature by examining the case of recent German immigrants living in Switzerland. It adopts a comparative approach by focusing on the decision-making process regarding different types of migrants as well as varying migratory projects, i.e. the intention to stay in Switzerland, to return to Germany or to move to another country. New survey data will be collected to allow a close and in-depth analysis of the factors that determine their mobility intentions and plans. Moreover, we will gain new empirical insights into the process of decision-making and the existence of different types of migrants in today's legal context of free movement of persons; this being new evidence that will finally allow us to theoretically refine the conceptual framework of the migration decision-making process of different migratory projects and subgroups and to better understand current migration patterns within EU/EFTA-countries.

This article provides estimates of different kinds of contemporary migration trajectories, highlighting multiple or repeated migrations. Using sequence analysis on linked longitudinal register data, we identify different migration trajectories for three cohorts (1998, 2003, and 2008) of 315,000 immigrants in Switzerland. Multinomial regression analysis reveals the demographic characteristics associated with specific migration trajectories. We demonstrate high heterogeneity in migration practices, showing that direct and definitive settlement in the destination country remains a common trajectory and that highly mobile immigrants are less common. We conclude that accounts of a fundamental "mobility turn" have been overstated.

One of the core objectives of the nccr – on the move is to provide new data on migration using a variety of approaches. After the preparatory work in 2015, the Migration-Mobility Survey was setup and successfully conducted during the fall 2016. In total, 5800 migrants were surveyed.
Topics include the migratory trajectory before arriving in Switzerland, the family composition and labor market participation and integration and satisfaction with life in Switzerland.

In this chapter, we seek to shed light on the mechanisms of perceived discrimination: Who, among recent immigrants, is more likely to feel discriminated against and report it when asked in a survey? Social scientists typically define discrimination as an observable and unjust difference in the treatment of distinct groups. To personally feel discriminated against, people must be aware of the differential treatment and perceive it as unjust. We show that reporting discrimination when asked in a survey depends substantially upon individual traits, including aspects that shape whether discrimination is accepted and whether immigrants feel attached to the host society. Although respondents report less discrimination if their job situation has improved after migration, people more likely report discrimination when they originate from countries in which the national legislature represents ethnic minority groups relatively well. Earlier difficulties related to the migration process and the lack of supporting networks continue to affect the perception of unfair treatment. Moreover, we show that individuals distinguish to a surprising degree between discrimination in and outside the work environment. For instance, when they are proficient in the local language, respondents often report discrimination in the workplace but not in a public environment. This distinction between discrimination in the workplace and discrimination in public also depends strongly upon the immigrant's origin. We conclude that contemporary individual-level measures and policy recommendations merely approximate discriminatory patterns; we urge future research to consider factors that affect individual perception of discrimination.