2025/06/14 by Sandra Lavenex, Paula Hoffmeyer‐Zlotnik, Mariana Alvarado +1 · 1 voice
Social Sciences · Health Professions · #Migration and Labor Dynamics #Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy #Employment and Welfare Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/migration/mnaf028
openalex publication_date 2025/06/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
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.