Unsurprisingly, migrants from distant countries visit their home countries less frequently compared to those from neighboring countries and in some cases they never do.
According to the survey, 55% (compared to 44% in 2018) of South Americans, 37% (compared to 12% in 2018) of people from the Balkans and 24% (compared to 41% in 2018) of respondents from Asia (except for India) had not visited their countries of origin in the twelve months leading up to the survey. The differences from 2018 can probably be attributed to a “catch-up effect”, as there were very few visits in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19. In contrast, the vast majority of migrants from countries bordering Switzerland and European countries (more than 85% compared to 90% in 2018) had returned to their home countries at least once.
The data reveals that individuals from neighboring countries regularly visit their home countries (sometimes even several times a month). However, this pattern does not apply to the same extent to the Portuguese and British nationals, as their visits are less frequent.
Among migrants, males, those with tertiary educational qualifications, and those who migrated to Switzerland for professional reasons visit their countries of origin most frequently. The duration of their stay in Switzerland does not significantly affect the frequency of their visits to their home countries.
How strong is the attachment to Switzerland and the country of origin?
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Source: Migration-Mobility Survey 2022, nccr – on the move
Note on methodology: These figures are taken from the Migration-Mobility Survey, conducted in fall 2022 on a population of persons born abroad and with foreign citizenship who have moved to Switzerland in the last 16 years. To be included in the sample population, respondents had to be between 24 and 64 years of age at the time of the survey, and at least 18 years of age on their arrival in Switzerland. 7,206 people replied to the full questionnaire, either online or by telephone.
The question asked: How often have you visited your country of origin during the past 12 months? By visit, we mean having spent at least one night in your country.
Note: The “country of origin” was as declared by the respondents. In most cases, it was the same as their country of nationality or one of their countries of nationality.
Terms of use: The Migration-Mobility Indicators are made available free of charge for non-commercial use. We ask the users to acknowledge the source.
Suggested citation: nccr – on the move, Migration-Mobility Indicators. Neuchâtel: nccr – on the move, 2023.
For more information about the data sets used, please click here.
Last update: 3 July 2023