The Many Forms of Multiple Migrations: Evidence from a Sequence Analysis in Switzerland, 1998 to 2008

Abstract

This article provides estimates of different kinds of contemporary migration trajectories, highlighting multiple or repeated migrations. Using sequence analysis on linked longitudinal register data, we identify different migration trajectories for three cohorts (1998, 2003, and 2008) of 315,000 immigrants in Switzerland. Multinomial regression analysis reveals the demographic characteristics associated with specific migration trajectories. We demonstrate high heterogeneity in migration practices, showing that direct and definitive settlement in the destination country remains a common trajectory and that highly mobile immigrants are less common. We conclude that accounts of a fundamental “mobility turn” have been overstated.

Determinants and consequences of rural‐to‐urban migration patterns in China: Evidence from sequence analysis

“…Our study joins the small but growing number of studies that use sequence analysis to examine migration patterns across substantial age ranges (di Belgiojoso & Terzera, 2018;Impicciatore & Panichella, 2019;Liao & Gan, 2020;Stovel & Bolan, 2004;Vidal & Lutz, 2018;M. Yang et al, 2020;Zufferey et al, 2021).…”

“…For example, interested in family migration trajectories for migrants in Italy, di Belgiojoso and Terzera (2018) define migration states based on family reunification status (alone, single, and reunited) and have identified various family migration trajectories (e.g., partial, slow, and quick family reunification trajectories) in a 10-year observation window. Similarly, to study multiple and repeat migration in Switzerland, Zufferey et al (2021) define migration status by internal and international migration moves and have identified multiple migration trajectories (e.g., internal mobility and international circulation trajectories) in a 5-year observation window.…”

Introduction: The Sociology of Migration in Switzerland: Past, Present and Future

“…Conceptually there was a shift in this period in the terms used to describe this phenomenon -from emigration/immigration to migration -and to grasp it in a more flexible and complete way. This can help us understand the different forms that migration can take -stages/circulation, mono/ multidirectional, forced/voluntary, temporary/long term or international/internal (see Lüthi and Skenderovic 2019;Zufferey et al 2020).…”

“…As a result, migrants were no longer regarded as a homogeneous group considered as "foreigners"; however, the policy change brought a distinction between (desired and sought-after) high-skilled migrants on the one hand, and (unwanted) unqualified migrants on the other. Highly skilled migrants often came from Western (and mostly European) countries and were often long-term residents, while unskilled immigrants and those with few (formal) qualifications -associated with the Global South and often rejected -represented more recent migration (see also Joppke in this special issue; Zufferey et al 2020). In this context a new asylum law was established in 1981; it was revised many times, mainly in a more restrictive way, underlying the precariousness of this right (Parini and Gianni 2005).…”

“…With large datasets, access to register data, and new methodologies, the divisions and sub-divisions within the different migrant groups can now be explored without necessarily reifying undue categories. Assumptions such as vulnerability or transnational lifestyles have become expectations that can be tested empirically (Steiner and Wanner 2019;Zufferey et al 2020).…”