Self-employed immigrants and returnees , Date: 2014.03.20, format: project (finished), area: Authority

The situation and the specific characteristics of self-employed foreign nationals in accordance with § 21 of the Residence Act were highlighted in this project.

Migrants who hold a residence title in accordance with § 21 of the Residence Act were surveyed, as was done in the survey of highly-qualified professionals in accordance with § 19 of the Residence Act and of qualified economic migrants in accordance with § 18 of the same Act.

Research interests and research issues

The aim of the survey was to acquire information about third-country nationals who come to Germany for the purpose of becoming self employed. Particular research interests lay in the motivation of the immigrants, their existing (educational) qualifications and their intentions to remain in Germany or return to their country of origin. Research questions about the type of company they wish to set up and the differences found in comparison with local self-employed people in Germany were also tackled.

The intention of this survey was to discover the extent to which the changes to § 21 of the Residence Act have resulted in changes to migration flows and to the range of migrants and their motives. In addition, the integration into the German labour market and the business relationships of the self-employed were also analysed.