From Arrival to Belonging: Insights from Eight Years of the Migration-Mobility Survey

After eight years, five waves and over 25,000 participants, the Migration-Mobility Survey reached its final round in 2024. Its rich, longitudinal data reveal how foreign nationals in Switzerland build lives here. Moreover, the survey reveals much more than just statistics; it shows what makes life easier or harder for them as well as how they see themselves. These stories matter to all of us because they touch on questions of belonging, fairness, and the future of Swiss society.

Since 2016, the Migration-Mobility Survey has followed thousands of foreign people who moved to Switzerland as adults. They answered questions about education, work, family, social ties, living conditions, and links with their country of origin, among others. Because many have answered the survey repeatedly, we can see how things change over time, whether employment becomes more stable, whether people feel more rooted, or whether earlier hopes evolve. The 2024 study included 6,971 participants who took part in the survey online or through telephone interviews in multiple languages.

The Latest 2024 Trends

By 2024, the Migration-Mobility survey has more than 25,000 cumulative responses across all waves. This latest survey confirms some themes from earlier: that newcomers often worry about financial security, especially in old age; that mobility across borders remains high but people tend to stay longer than initially planned; and that integration is a long, uneven process. Language remains a barrier for some, and social belonging is felt more strongly by some than by others.

Why These Findings Matter?

In Switzerland, more than one in four residents is a foreign national. Their experiences are part of what constitutes Swiss society, yet they have rarely been included in such large-scale and long-term studies before. Public debate and policy still tend to approach migration through the narrow lens of “integration,” focusing on rules and requirements rather than on people’s everyday lives.

The nccr – on the move’s Migration-Mobility Survey matters because it turns that lens around. It shows how foreign residents experience belonging, opportunity, and daily life in Switzerland, and how these experiences change, or don’t, over time. In doing so, it not only brings visibility to a large part of the population but also challenges one-sided narratives, offering insights that are essential for a more complete and inclusive understanding of Swiss society.

How Much Research Has It Generated?

So far, around 200 researchers have published work based on data from the nccr – on the move’s Migration-Mobility Survey. A collective book has also come out on the topic, and dozens of students have used the survey data for their theses. Building on this body of research, we have developed the Migration-Mobility Indicators, including data visualizations that make these findings more accessible.

The research covers themes such as employment trajectories, socialization, transnational ties, education, discrimination, identity, and more. The growing body of research highlights both how rich and under-exploited the data are: there are many more questions that still remain, such as how people’s views change over time, how small differences in policy affect lives, or how identity, belonging, and thinking about the future change over time.

The Last Wave: Why It Must Count

Since 2024 will be the final wave, this is a moment of opportunity and responsibility. The last data collection gives us a full eight-year timeline. Any patterns we see now are likely to stick. Any gaps in understanding exposed now may be permanent unless addressed. This is the moment to push the limits of what this data can tell us. It feels important, therefore, to call for deeper qualitative follow-up studies, connect our survey’s findings with policy experiments, maybe even involve respondents in the interpretation of results, invite youth perspectives, study intergenerational change, as well as include perspectives on digital connectivity and climate migration.

Looking Beyond

As presently no more waves are planned after 2024, the Migration-Mobility Survey will become a closed archive. We call on researchers using the survey data to compare different origin groups, genders, periods of arrival, and legal statuses to understand who thrives and who struggles. We invite policymakers to consider retirement security, housing, and social belonging as important areas of development.

We also invite the general public to engage with the results, as these stories are about who we are becoming as a society. Will we be a society that builds inclusion or one that tolerates separation? Will we see newcomers as equal members of the society or as outsiders?

This final wave is also a call to use what we have learned this far to shape policies, public attitudes, and institutions, so that Switzerland’s future includes everyone and reflects the dignity, aspirations, and voices of all who live here.

Nora Bardelli is the Administrative Director of the nccr – on the move.

Inka Sayed is the Communication Officer of the nccr – on the move.

Reference:

–Steiner, Ilka, and Philippe Wanner, editors. Migrants and Expats: The Swiss Migration and Mobility Nexus. Springer Nature, 2019.