The regulation of immigration and how immigrants are treated once they settle in a country are fundamental aspects of national policy. Existing descriptions of the developments of immigration and integration policy have either provided a limited snapshot, or relied on the author's subjective assessment of how policies developed over time. In this research note, we provide a systematic and truly historical assessment of immigration and integration policy in Switzerland: between the foundation of modern Switzerland in 1848 and 2014. The most recent MIPEX questionnaire was used to provide a systematic and multidimensional portrait of how immigration and integration policy has evolved in Switzerland. Using these data, we identify three distinctive periods (expansive, restricting, expanding), and argue that the changes in policies reflect the fact that immigrants are increasingly accepted as a permanent feature of Swiss society.
