Residential mobility and housing tenure among immigrants and their descendants: a cross-national analysis of five European countries

Understanding the housing and residential mobility of migrant populations is crucial to facilitate their integration into host societies. Yet, little is known about their experiences across generations, origin groups, and country contexts. This study investigates residential mobility and housing changes among immigrants and their descendants in five European countries (United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden) with different housing markets and migrant populations. Using longitudinal data from 2010 to 2019, we first compare the risk of a residential move across migrant generations, origins groups, and host countries. We then study the propensity to move to different housing tenure types (i.e., homeownership, private renting, and social renting). We find distinct patterns of residential moves among migrant generations and origin groups. First, immigrants’ residential mobility levels vary across origin groups and country contexts. However, we generally find lower mobility for the second generation compared to the first in all groups. Second, in all countries, immigrants, especially from non-European countries, are less likely to move to homeownership and more likely to move to social or private renting than the native populations. Some of the differences decline across migrant generations, however, we still find lower levels of mobility to homeownership and a higher propensity of moving to social renting among some descendant groups. This study sheds light on persistent differences in residential mobility and housing patterns among immigrants and their descendants in Europe and contributes to a better understanding of the role of the country context in assimilation of housing behaviour and perpetuating housing inequalities.