With more than 20 percent, Switzerland is one of the countries with the largest foreign population. Since 1970 the government has tried to manage the flows of migrants in the hope of reconciling a chronic excess demand for labor with mounting pressures from nationalistic groups to control the level of foreign population. A policy of quotas on work permits has been effective in controlling the entry of new workers. Nevertheless, the overall dynamic of the system has led to an ever-increasing share of newcomers not covered by quotas. Because of institutional and economic changes, the outflow did not react to economic incentives as the government expected. Hence, at the beginning of the 21st century, the link between the instruments of immigration policy and its goal has become very weak and the level of foreign population is at an all time high. However, a new era has begun with an agreement on free mobility with European Union and European Free Trade Area (EFTA) countries.

With more than 20 percent, Switzerland is one of the countries with the largest foreign population. Since 1970 the government has tried to manage the flows of migrants in the hope of reconciling a chronic excess demand for labor with mounting pressures from nationalistic groups to control the level of foreign population. A policy of quotas on work permits has been effective in controlling the entry of new workers. Nevertheless, the overall dynamic of the system has led to an ever-increasing share of newcomers not covered by quotas. Because of institutional and economic changes, the outflow did not react to economic incentives as the government expected. Hence, at the beginning of the 21st century, the link between the instruments of immigration policy and its goal has become very weak and the level of foreign population is at an all time high. However, a new era has begun with an agreement on free mobility with European Union and European Free Trade Area (EFTA) countries.

From less than 5 percent in 1980, the share of residents from the former Republic of Yugoslavia in the total foreign population in Switzerland rose to almost 25% in 2000, to become one of the largest foreign communities. The largest increase occurs mostly between 1985 and 1998 and represents a unique development in the composition of immigration to Switzerland, as it coincides with a new policy, which from 1995 gives priority to workers from the European Union for new permits and severely restricts work permits for migrants from the rest of the world. The empirical analysis shows that when there is no discriminatory treatment by immigration policy, immigrant workers from the former Yugoslavia respond to financial and cultural incentives in the same way as their unskilled counterparts from Southern European countries. The restriction on permit availability in the mid-1990s appears to have weakened the financial and cultural attractiveness of Switzerland for immigrants from the former Yugoslavia. This may signal a change in the characteristics of migrants from the region toward higher skill levels.

"With more than 20 percent, Switzerland is one of the countries with the largest foreign population. Since 1970 the government has tried to manage the flows of migrants in the hope of reconciling a chronic excess demand for labor with mounting pressures from nationalistic groups to control the level of foreign population. A policy of quotas on work permits has been effective in controlling the entry of new workers. Nevertheless, the overall dynamic of the system has led to an ever-increasing share of newcomers not covered by quotas. Because of institutional and economic changes, the outflow did not react to economic incentives as the government expected. Hence, at the beginning of the 21st century, the link between the instruments of immigration policy and its goal has become very weak and the level of foreign population is at an all time high. However, a new era has begun with an agreement on free mobility with European Union and European Free Trade Area (EFTA) countries."--World Bank web site.

This book explores the history of migration in Switzerland from the late nineteenth century to the present day. It brings together recent scholarship on Switzerland in the field of cultural and migration studies, as well as migration history, and combines various research approaches from postcolonial studies, transnational studies, border studies, and history of knowledge. Since the late nineteenth century, Switzerland has gradually transformed into a migration society, becoming one of the countries in Europe with the highest percentage of migrant population. While migration has become one of most contentious issues in Swiss public and political debates, the volume also shows how migrants have developed various strategies to deal with the country’s discriminatory policies and distinct institutional settings. The authors of the volume convincingly challenge the view that Switzerland still does not represent a migration (or even post-migrant) society and substantially contributes to the long overdue acknowledgement of Switzerland in migration history and studies at the international level.

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.