A new survey by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) has revealed that once internationals have settled in Switzerland, very few want to leave. A whopping 63 percent of non-Swiss say they never want to leave the country, with the desire to remain strongest among nationals of European countries which are not part of the European Union.

63 percent of expats want to stay in Switzerland forever

It's a well-known trope for Switzerland: you sign a work contract for two years and end up staying in the country for 20.  According to the new “Demos” study by the FSO, 63 percent of non-Swiss residents said they wanted to stay in Switzerland forever. 9 percent reported that they would be staying for at least half a decade, while 3 percent indicated that they would be packing up within five years - the rest (25 percent) were undecided.

Among expats, the desire to stay was the strongest among people from European nations that are not part of the EU - the United Kingdom, Norway, Albania, Serbia, and Montenegro, among others - with 76 percent expressing a desire to remain resident in Swiss cantons permanently. Nationals from countries outside Europe (57 percent) and EU citizens (52 percent) were less keen to stay permanently.

In terms of how long people actually live in Switzerland, the FSO found that as of 2021, 40 percent of expats moved to the country in the previous 10 years. 39 percent have lived in the country for 10 to 30 years, while a surprising 21 percent have snubbed Swiss citizenship and resided in the country as expats for more than 30 years.

Family and work the main draws to Switzerland for internationals

The main draws for internationals are family and work, with two-thirds saying that they came to the alpine nation having already secured a job - perhaps not surprising, given that most non-EU, EEA and EFTA arrivals have to be employed before applying for a residence permit.

The FSO noted that EU citizens are more likely (56 percent) to come to Switzerland for work compared to people from outside the bloc, for whom reunification with family (59 percent of Non-EU Europeans and 50 percent of non-Europeans) is the most common reason. The reasons for coming to Switzerland also differ by sex, with men typically coming for work and higher salaries, while women are most likely to immigrate for “family reasons”.

Finally, in what will be good news for language schools, nearly half of all arrivals in the last 20 years did not learn German, French or Italian before moving to Switzerland. To read the full report, check out the official website (in German).

Thumb image credit: Shutterstock.com / Roman Babakin