The Mobility of the Highly Skilled towards Switzerland

More than half of recent immigrants in Switzerland could be classified as “highly qualified migrants”. Highly qualified migrants tend to stay for far shorter periods than “old” immigrants. Nevertheless, little research has been conducted on this more temporary form of migration. This lack of scientific research contrasts starkly with the ubiquitous and controversially led media debate on the lifestyle of these immigrants and their alleged reluctance to integrate into the Swiss host society. But who are these highly skilled migrants, what are the factors behind their decision to move to Switzerland, and what characterizes their lives and experiences in Switzerland? Finally, what are the impacts of these contemporary immigration patterns on Swiss society?

Aims of the project

The project aims at acquiring a comprehensive depiction of the environment of highly qualified immigrants in order to be able to adjust the regulatory framework regarding integration efforts according to the presumed changes in immigration patterns. It outlines recommendations to cope with the challenges that “new” mobility creates especially regarding the current understanding of integration that has not yet undergone an adaptation towards the realities that the paradigm shift has generated. With a combination of policy analysis and anthropological field-research, the project also gives a human face to this kind of global mobility by looking beyond the statistical facts and figures. It thus offers an in-depth insight into a topic that is decidedly under-researched in Switzerland.