Universität zu Köln

Lavenex, Sandra, Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik, Paula ORCID: 0000-0003-4784-0421, Alvarado, Mariana and Lutz, Philipp ORCID: 0000-0003-2373-0180 (2025). Attracting migrants through the backdoor: Business migration in Switzerland. Migration Studies, 13 (3). pp. 1-21. Oxford University Press. ISSN 2049-5838

PDF mnaf028.pdf Bereitstellung unter der CC-Lizenz: Creative Commons Attribution. Download (1MB)

Abstract

Abstract In regulating immigration, governments in Western democracies face a ‘liberal paradox’: they must balance economic and judicial pressures to admit and protect migrants with domestic political demands for restriction. A key strategy to navigate this tension is the ‘market model’ of migration policy, which emphasizes temporariness and limited rights. While commonly associated with low-skilled migration, we argue that this model also applies to highly skilled business migration. Business migrants—such as intra-corporate transferees, business visitors, and contractual service suppliers—form a substantial share of labour mobility but do not formally enter host labour markets, circumventing both associated rights and politicization. In this article, we study the policy frameworks and political dynamics surrounding business migration, demonstrating how it serves as an escape route from the liberal paradox. Key characteristics of business migration—temporary admission, restricted rights, ‘quiet politics’, and all-party consensus—enable governments to meet economic demands while limiting political backlash. Analysing Switzerland, a most likely case, we show how business migration operates as a high-skilled variant of the market model, reconciling economic openness with political closure. This study sheds light on the broader implications of business migration for immigration policy and politics in Western democracies.

Item Type:	Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Lavenex, Sandra UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik, Paula UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4784-0421 UNSPECIFIED Alvarado, Mariana UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Lutz, Philipp UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2373-0180 UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-811280
Identification Number:	10.1093/migration/mnaf028
Journal or Publication Title:	Migration Studies
Volume:	13
Number:	3
Page Range:	pp. 1-21
Number of Pages:	21
Date:	14 June 2025
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
ISSN:	2049-5838
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Management, Economy and Social Sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Political Science > Cologne Center for Comparative Politics
Subjects:	Social sciences Political science
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language liberal paradox ; business migration ; posted workers, intra-corporate transferees ; market model ; GATS mode four ; highly-skilled migration ; preferential trade agreements ; temporary migration ; Switzerland, migrant rights UNSPECIFIED
['eprint_fieldname_oa_funders' not defined]:	Publikationsfonds UzK
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/81128