In the first wave of the International Mobility Panel of Migrants in Germany (IMPa), around three per cent of immigrants reported plans to leave Germany in the next 12 months. The results of the follow-up survey, published on Thursday by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), show that 2.6 per cent of the immigrants had left Germany by the second survey wave. This is equivalent to around 260,000 people. After partnership and family reasons, burdensome bureaucratic processes were the second most frequently cited reason for leaving.
Among the immigrants who had left Germany, nearly half had already reported in the first survey wave that they were planning to leave, while another 18 per cent had considered doing so. At the same time, many plans did not translate into actual moves: almost two thirds of those who had planned to leave were still living in Germany at the time of the follow-up survey. This may be because the time between the two surveys was too short for some plans to be realised, because people’s circumstances changed, or because plans were abandoned. Conversely, one third of those who had left had not previously reported any considerations or plans of leaving. “Not every departure is announced in advance. But plans to leave are a strong indicator of who will later actually leave Germany,” explains Yuliya Kosyakova, head of the IAB research department “Migration, Integration and International Labour Market Research”. “With immigration declining and emigration remaining largely stable, it is becoming more important from a labour market policy perspective to identify early on who is considering leaving — and to strengthen prospects for staying where possible.”
Leaving Germany also remains an option for many immigrants who are still living in the country. In the second survey wave, three per cent said they were planning to leave Germany within the next twelve months, while another 30 per cent had considered leaving during the previous twelve months. This shows that leaving Germany remains an option for a considerable share of stayers.
Bureaucracy is the second most frequently mentioned reason for leaving
Thirty-two per cent of those who left Germany cite burdensome bureaucratic processes as a reason for their departure. This criticism may be based on concrete encounters with German bureaucracy: immigrants are often critical of authorities’ response time for follow-up questions, as well as the length, cost and clarity of the procedure. Younger immigrants in particular are more likely to assess administrative procedures critically. “When administrative procedures are experienced as lengthy, difficult to understand or hard to access, this can negatively impact people’s prospects of staying,” says IAB researcher Julia Reinold.
40 per cent moved on to another country
Among those who moved on to another country, the largest share moved to Spain, followed by Switzerland, Italy and Croatia. Sixty per cent of those who left returned to their country of origin. Many return migrants came from Central and Eastern Europe or from other non-EU countries and returned to these regions accordingly.
Compared with those who stayed, those who left were, on average, younger, had lived in Germany for a shorter period, were more likely to have family abroad and were less likely to have good or very good German skills, but more likely to have good or very good English skills. Their gross hourly wages were lower than those of people who stayed. Within the group of those who left, however, there are clear differences: people who had previously reported plans to leave were more often highly educated, more often had good or very good English skills, more often held German or EU citizenship or a permanent residence permit, and earned higher gross hourly wages than those who left without earlier plans. “Plans to leave should not simply be equated with weak integration. They also occur among people with stronger resources and among those in employment who have international mobility options,” explains IAB researcher Theresa Koch.
Many of those who left saw a need for support with work and careers
Looking back, 50 per cent of those who left say that they had needed support related to work and career during their time in Germany. Among those with support needs, 56 per cent would have liked support from the Federal Employment Agency or the Jobcentre, 44 per cent from cities, municipalities or local advice centres, and 43 per cent from their employer. The findings point to concrete areas for action: those who left assess labour market opportunities for foreign nationals more critically than those who stayed and are more likely to strongly agree that foreigners have poorer chances in the German labour market.
Leaving Germany does not necessarily mean a complete loss of connection with the country. Looking back, 53 per cent of those who left would have liked to stay in Germany for longer or permanently; 57 per cent have thought about moving back to Germany in the future. “Germany’s approach to skilled migration should not focus only on attracting talent, but also take into account retention, onward migration and a possible return to Germany,” concludes IAB researcher Laura Goßner.
Data basis
The study is based on data from the International Mobility Panel of Migrants in Germany (IMPa). IMPa is a representative longitudinal survey of immigrants in Germany. The first survey wave took place between December 2024 and April 2025; the follow-up survey took place between November 2025 and February 2026. This makes it possible to link considerations and plans of leaving reported in wave 1 with actual return and onward migration up to wave 2. Forty-three per cent of wave-1 respondents took part again in wave 2. Statistical weighting procedures make it possible to draw representative conclusions about the target population. Overall, this results in a dataset of more than 15,000 respondents.
The study is available at: https://doku.iab.de/kurzber/2026/kb2026-10-eng.pdf. A more detailed analysis of how administrative procedures are assessed can be found in the IAB-Forum: https://iab-forum.de/en/when-bureaucracy-becomes-a-barrier-what-migrants-think-about-germanys-administrative-processes/.