No future in Germany? Jobs, housing, finances: 20% of young Germans hope for better living conditions abroad. In the long term, emigration appeals to 41% of 14- to 29-year-olds, a new study finds.
In 2024, most Germans, regardless of age, settled in Switzerland, which was home to around 324,000 German citizens.
That doesn’t seem like the most obvious place, as it’s one of the few places in Europe that isn’t in the EU and to which German citizens don’t have an automatic right to move to.
It’s very wealthy and AFAIK has low taxes, though. But I’m not sure that Switzerland has a better housing situation.
But also, it’s not particularly surprising that Germans are settling in a German-speaking country (even if the local accent/dialect is quite different).
Borders are open. Switzerland did not join the EU (by a 0.1% vote margin in 1997 IIRC), but through three consecutive agreements is very closely aligned with and integrated to the EU, including free movement and work (IIRC).
That doesn’t seem like the most obvious place, as it’s one of the few places in Europe that isn’t in the EU and to which German citizens don’t have an automatic right to move to.
It’s very wealthy and AFAIK has low taxes, though. But I’m not sure that Switzerland has a better housing situation.
But also, it’s not particularly surprising that Germans are settling in a German-speaking country (even if the local accent/dialect is quite different).
Borders are open. Switzerland did not join the EU (by a 0.1% vote margin in 1997 IIRC), but through three consecutive agreements is very closely aligned with and integrated to the EU, including free movement and work (IIRC).
EU/EFTA citizens get automatic residents permits in Switzerland, if they have a job in Switzerland. They can even work in Switzerland without a permit for up to three months. So this is mostly not an issue. Switzerland is also one of the few countries in Europe, which is significantly richer then Germany and partly German speaking.