Despite Switzerland’s strong economy and high wages, a majority of European immigrants leave within a few years—citing the country’s steep living costs, social barriers, and job market rigidity.
For decades, Switzerland has drawn European workers seeking stable jobs, financial security, and the picturesque promise of Alpine life. Yet official data reveal a striking pattern: most immigrants from EU and EFTA countries pack up and leave within only a few years.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, between 2015 and 2025, roughly 30,000 Europeans left Switzerland every year. Of those who arrived in 2015, half had left after just five years, and 60 percent departed within a decade. The image often portrayed by Switzerland’s right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP)—that foreigners settle permanently and strain infrastructure—appears wide of the mark.
The reality behind the “stay forever” myth
The SVP’s “No to 10 Million” initiative, which aims to cap Switzerland’s population growth by limiting immigration, rests on the argument that foreign residents remain indefinitely, burdening housing, public transport, and public services. But economists and sociologists point to a different reality: Switzerland’s cost of living and cultural insularity often drive people out.
“Switzerland is not an Eldorado where wealth is handed to you on a silver platter,” said Rödiger Voss, a business economist. High rents, insurance premiums, and childcare costs leave even high earners with limited disposable income, undermining the financial allure that draws many migrants in the first place.
Integration: the invisible frontier
For others, the challenge is not purely economic but social. As Patrick Chuard-Keller of the Swiss Employers’ Association explains, “Only those who find their place in the local market can stay.” Many foreigners never fully integrate, finding Swiss society exceptionally polite yet reserved—and slow to welcome outsiders into deeper social circles.
Sociologist Liliana Azevedo from the University of Neuchâtel adds that job stability is key to long-term settlement. “Work is what binds people to Switzerland,” she says. “Unemployment or insecure employment are strong push factors for leaving.”
The lure—and limits—of prosperity
While Switzerland’s labor market remains flexible and prosperous, it also demands a precise professional fit. Those whose skills don’t meet employers’ high expectations often opt to return home or move on to less costly countries. Even retirees find the Swiss dream fading: “I will move to a lower cost country where my Swiss pension can sustain me,” said longtime expatriate David Heard.
Others echo a common refrain: life in Switzerland is not unwelcoming, yet it can be emotionally and financially exhausting. “Switzerland seems welcoming, but it is hard work as a foreigner,” said former resident Deborah Jutzeler.
In a nation that prides itself on precision, the immigrant experience might best be described as finely balanced—between aspiration and affordability, belonging and isolation. And for many, that balance tips toward leaving long before the five-year mark.
