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.

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 work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.

How Immigrants Contribute to Developing Countries' Economies is the result of a project carried out by the OECD Development Centre and the International Labour Organization, with support from the European Union. The report covers the ten project partner countries.

International migration has become acentral element of international relations and global integration due to its rapidly increasing economic, social, and cultural impact in both source and destination countries. This book provides new evidence on the impact of migration and remittances on several development indicators, including innovative thinking about thenexus between migration and birth rates. In addition, the book identifies the effect of host country policies on migration flows, examines the determinants of return and repeat migration, and explores the degree of success of return migrants upon return to their country of origin.

A study focusing on Sri Lankan Tamils from the Jaffna Peninsula who, due to ethno-nationalist violence and repression, sought asylum in Switzerland. McDowell (research officer, refugee studies, U. of Oxford) bases his research on a combination of anthropological fieldwork and archival material, investigating the development of the Tamil community in Switzerland, the impact of Swiss federal policy and practice on them, and the economic impact of accommodating at least 200,000 refugees. The study provides information on the Swiss people's popular opinion (opposed to reaction) and the changes made to re-shape asylum policies taking both humanitarian and economic realities into account--a methodology being adopted by other European countries. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This open access book analyses the strategies of migration intermediaries from the public and private sectors in Switzerland to select, attract, and retain highly skilled migrants who represent value to them. It reveals how state and economic actors define “wanted immigrants” and provide them with privileged access to the Swiss territory and labour market. The analysis draws on an ethnographic study conducted in the French-speaking Lake Geneva area and the German-speaking northwestern region of Switzerland between 2014 and 2018. It shows how institutional actors influence which resources are available to different groups of newcomers by defining and dividing migrants according to constructed social categories that correlate with specific status and privileges. This research thus shifts the focus from an approach that takes the category of highly skilled migrant for granted to one that regards context as crucial for structuring migrants’ characteristics, trajectories, and experiences. Beyond consideration of professional qualifications, the ways decision-makers perceive candidates and shape their resource environments are crucial for constructing them as skilled or unskilled, wanted or unwanted, welcome or unwelcome.