P epa a o y Ma e ial o he Round able Discussion
Sümeghy, Dá id, Bo bála Göncz, Gyö gy Lengyel,
Ádám Néme h, Zsol Néme h, Lilla Tó h
2025
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This wo king pape was de eloped in he con ex o he p ojec MIGWELL – Well-being and
Mig a ion: he Hunga y – Aus ia Mig a ion Nexus
Wo k Package 4: ‘Policy op ions’
MIGWELL is an FWF–NKFIH In e na ional Join P ojec . In Aus ia he p ojec is unded by he
Aus ian Science Fund. In Hunga y he p ojec has been implemen ed wi h he suppo p o ided by he
Na ional Resea ch, De elopmen and Inno a ion Fund (Minis y o Inno a ion and Technology o
Hunga y), inanced unde he ANN unding scheme.
P ojec code: I 5616 (in Aus ia), 139465 (in Hunga y)
P ojec du a ion: 01.02.2022 – 31.07.2025 (in Aus ia), 01.12.2021 – 31.05.2025 (in Hunga y)
P ojec Pa ne s:
Ins i u e o U ban and Regional Resea ch a he Aus ian Academy o Sciences
Cen e o Empi ical Social Resea ch a he Co inus Uni e si y o Budapes
Depa men o Finno-Ug ian S udies, Uni e si y o Vienna
Scien i ic Ad iso y Boa d:
Depa men o Sociology, Uni e si y o Vienna
Hunga ian Demog aphic Resea ch Ins i u e
Hunga ian Cen al S a is ical O ice
MIGWELL’s websi e: LINK
MIGWELL’s ou pu s will be uploaded o: LINK
Inqui ies can be di ec ed o: Ins i u e o U ban and Regional Resea ch a he Aus ian Academy o
Sciences, [email p o ec ed].a o Cen e o Empi ical Social Resea ch a he Co inus Uni e si y o
Budapes , bo bala.goncz@uni-co inus.hu
Sugges ed ci a ion: Sümeghy, D., Göncz, B., Lengyel, Gy., Néme h, Á., Néme h, Zs., and Tó h, L.
(2025) P epa a o y ma e ial o he ound able discussion. MIGWELL P ojec Deli e able, No. 4.1.
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MIGWELL a a glance
The MIGWELL p ojec ocuses on he nexus o mig a ion and well-being in Hunga y and
Aus ia. Using quan i a i e and quali a i e esea ch me hods, i seeks o explo e he impac s o
mig a ion on subjec i e well-being in he case o Hunga ian immig an s in Aus ia as well as
he e ec s o subjec i e well-being di e ences on emig a ion po en ial in Hunga y. The
app oach o his p ojec is inno a i e no only because i links he concep s o ‘well-being’ and
‘mig a ion’, bu also because i in e p e s hei wo-way causal ela ionship wi hin one esea ch
amewo k. Since he Co id-19 pandemic migh ha e a p o ound impac on bo h pilla s,
MIGWELL will also e lec on he apidly changing socio-economic and well-being ela ed
issues ha ha e eme ged due o he epidemic h oughou he li e cycle o he p ojec . The
heo e ical expansion o hese concep s and he empi ical indings o he p ojec may con ibu e
o mo e e ec i e policies in bo h coun ies.
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1. Summa y o he Resul s
Ou esea ch sheds new ligh on he mu ual ela ionship be ween mig a ion and subjec i e well-
being by examining one o Cen al Eu ope’s mos ac i e mig a ion ou es: om Hunga y o
Aus ia. Wi h o e 100,000 Hunga ians now li ing ac oss he bo de , ou s udy unco e s how
he subjec i e well-being (e.g., li e sa is ac ion, s ess le els, happiness, op imism) shi ed a e
eloca ion. While mos mig an s epo g ea e happiness and inancial s abili y, challenges such
as o e quali ica ion, language ba ie s, and loneliness emain signi ican .
Wha d i es people o lea e, and wha helps hem eel a home in a new coun y? Why do some
mig an s h i e, while o he s s uggle o adap despi e imp o ed economic condi ions? Does
ac i e ansna ionalism (such as sending emi ances o isi ing Hunga y equen ly) help o
hinde he mig an expe ience? And how a e changes in subjec i e well-being ied o he way
mig an s e alua e he success o hei jou ney?
Sho summa y o he esul s
Ou esea ch explo es he dynamic in e play be ween mig a ion and subjec i e well-being
h ough he lens o Hunga ian mig a ion o Aus ia. One b anch o he s udy in es iga ed he
d i e s behind emig a ion om Hunga y, compa ing hose inclined o lea e wi h hose who
choose o s ay. While his may be o less di ec ele ance o Aus ian media, some pa icula ly
s iking indings a e included he e. The second and mo e p ominen ocus cen e s on he o e
100,000 Hunga ians cu en ly esiding in Aus ia. We examined how hei well-being,
especially i s subjec i e dimensions, has e ol ed as a esul o mig a ion. Using a combina ion
o quali a i e me hods (na a i e, cogni i e, and ocus g oup in e iews) and quan i a i e da a
(EU-wide, ep esen a i e, and con enience sample su eys), we gained a comp ehensi e iew
o his mig a ion co ido .
Following he all o he I on Cu ain, a s a k dispa i y in li e sa is ac ion le els eme ged
be ween Aus ians and Hunga ians, a phenomenon dubbed he “Happiness I on Cu ain.” While
Hunga y has seen signi ican gains in li e sa is ac ion in he 2010s, a no able gap emains:
Aus ians s ill sco e 1.14 imes highe on a e age (7.9 s. 6.9 on a 0-10 scale). E en mo e
s iking is he income gap. When accoun ing o pu chasing powe and in la ion, he a e age
Aus ian ea ned 2.3 imes mo e han hei Hunga ian coun e pa in 2022, one o he la ges
disc epancies be ween neighbo ing coun ies in Eu ope. Unsu p isingly, 85% o hose
conside ing mig a ion o Aus ia ci ed inancial easons among hei op h ee mo i a ions. Ye
only 57% o Hunga ians al eady li ing in Aus ia did so, sugges ing ha escaping inancial
ha dship may be pa icula ly emphasized along his mig a ion ou e. Suppo ing his, 60% o
p ospec i e mig an s a e willing o accep jobs below hei quali ica ions. We ound a s ong
causal link be ween low li e sa is ac ion and mig a ion in en . No ably, hose aiming o Aus ia
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epo he lowes le els o sa is ac ion compa ed o o he des ina ions, while holding he highes
hopes. This misma ch p esen s challenges o in eg a ion and long- e m well-being,
highligh ing he need o a ge ed policy esponses.
The a e age li e sa is ac ion sco e among Hunga ians in Aus ia is 7.4, si ing midway be ween
he Aus ian and Hunga ian na ional a e ages. Responden s epo ed high sa is ac ion wi h
income, public se ices, and g een spaces, bu less con en men wi h social connec ions and
leisu e ime. In e es ingly, some pe sonal a iables a ec well-being di e en ly among
mig an s han among hose who emain in Hunga y. Fo example, ha ing a pa ne does no
co ela e wi h highe li e sa is ac ion in Aus ia, while he nega i e impac o pe cei ed social
exclusion is s onge . Also, while absolu e income p edic s happiness in Hunga y, ela i e
income plays a bigge ole in Aus ia, mig an s e alua e hemsel es in compa ison o simila ly
quali ied Aus ians.
We assessed changes in well-being due o mig a ion using e ospec i e and causal models. The
esul s a e clea : mig a ion inc eases li e sa is ac ion. Ou causal model showed a 0.81-poin
ise, wi h 70% o esponden s epo ing highe sco es pos -mig a ion. Gains we e especially
p onounced among men and hose wi h lowe quali ica ions. Alongside ising li e sa is ac ion,
we obse ed declines in s ess and dep ession and inc eases in posi i e emo ions such as
happiness and calm. The only no able d awback was a sligh inc ease in loneliness, pa icula ly
among hose who le pa ne s o child en behind. The la ges boos was in op imism (+1.26),
and he sense o li e’s meaning also imp o ed, especially o mo e educa ed mig an s. Only
4.5% el mig a ion had ailed o mee hei expec a ions. In e es ingly, subjec i e well-being
changes we e no s ongly co ela ed wi h how people e alua ed hei mig a ion expe ience, bu
we e closely ied o e u n in en ions. E en a e con olling o o he ac o s, lowe li e
sa is ac ion was signi ican ly associa ed wi h a desi e o e u n o Hunga y. The excep ion?
Those who mig a ed wi h he speci ic aim o helping o es ablish a be e u u e in Hunga y.
We iden i ied ou majo challenges a ec ing he subjec i e well-being o Hunga ians in
Aus ia: o e quali ica ion, language ba ie s, weakening o social ela ionships, and
ansna ional ies. Nea ly one in ou employed Hunga ian mig an s is o e quali ied o hei
cu en job, a si ua ion mo e common among women. O e quali ica ion inc eases he likelihood
o an unsuccess ul mig a ion by 8%, aises he isk o s ess by 19%, and lowe s job sa is ac ion
by 11%. I also co ela es wi h educed income, eeding back in o o e all li e sa is ac ion. While
88% o ou esponden s had a leas con e sa ional Ge man skills, 27% o po en ial mig an s
speak no Ge man a all. Limi ed language p o iciency leads o ewe iendships, less leisu e
ac i i y, and g ea e eelings o social exclusion, ul ima ely educing li e sa is ac ion and
inc easing he likelihood o e u ning home.
Ou analysis e ealed an unexplained income gap o a ound €1,500 annually be ween Aus ian
and Hunga ian wo ke s, e en a e accoun ing o sec o , age, amily s a us e c. Ye mos
in e iewees did no epo expe iencing disc imina ion in he wo kplace. T ansna ional ac i i y
emains high: equen a el back o Hunga y, ongoing suppo om home, and egula
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emi ances a e common. Few Hunga ian mig an s a e ully disconnec ed om hei coun y o
o igin. T us in he Aus ian go e nmen and media a exceeds ha in hei Hunga ian
coun e pa s. Ce ain o ms o ansna ional engagemen , like ecei ing suppo om home, a e
posi i ely associa ed wi h well-being. Remi ances also co ela e wi h highe job sa is ac ion.
Howe e , lea ing pa ne s o child en behind is linked o a 13% d op in epo ed happiness.
2. Themes o he MIGWELL Round able Discussion
2.1 Speci ici ies o Mig a ion Be ween Hunga y and Aus ia
Backg ound
Aus ia has adi ionally been a op des ina ion o Hunga ian mig an s. The MIGWELL su ey
ound ha Aus ia is pa icula ly a ac i e (compa ed o hose who wan o mo e o ano he
coun y) o po en ial emig an s who a e ela i ely less educa ed, less sa is ied wi h li e,
p ima ily mo i a ed by inancial easons, and mo e willing o accep jobs o which hey a e
o e quali ied. Bu hey a e also he ones who would mo e wi h highe expec a ions and highe
hopes.
Discussion ques ions
• Wha could be he eason o his? Why migh he social backg ound and a i udes o
emig an s who wan o mo e o Aus ia o elsewhe e be di e en ?
• How ypical o speci ic is he Hunga y - Aus ia mig a ion nexus?
• How gene alisable a e hese indings beyond his speci ic con ex ?
2.2 Changes in Subjec i e Well-Being (SWB)
Backg ound
The MIGWELL p ojec shows ha SWB plays a key ole in bo h mig a ion mo i a ions and
how mig a ion expe iences a e pe cei ed. On he one hand, li e sa is ac ion is lowe among
hose conside ing emig a ion, compa ed o hose who wan o s ay in Hunga y. On he o he
hand, li e sa is ac ion ypically inc eases a e mig a ion o Aus ia. Howe e , his imp o emen
is une en. Rela i ely smalle gains in subjec i e well-being a e seen among women, hose
mo ing o u al a eas, o e quali ied mig an s, hose who mig a ed o ela ional easons, and
hose equen ly a eling back o Hunga y.
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Discussion ques ions
• Wha explains hese dispa i ies? Wha ex e nal in luences play a ole in his beyond he
ones we ha e aken in o accoun ?
• How do ini ial mo i a ions and ac ual challenges shape mig an s’ pe cep ions o
success?
• Wha a e he main challenges mig an s ace, and wha policies o good p ac ices could
add ess hem?
2.3 B ain Gain o B ain Was e: O e quali ied Mig an s
Backg ound
Many mig an s a ound he wo ld wo k below hei quali ica ion le el, which may lead o a
dec ease in pe cei ed social s a us and subjec i e well-being, and which impac s bo h sending
and ecei ing economies. MIGWELL su ey indica e ha ca. 60% o po en ial emig an s a e
willing o accep such si ua ions, and ca. 30% o ou Hunga ian esponden s in Aus ia do so,
hough some s ill epo being sa is ied.
Discussion ques ions:
• How se ious is he p oblem o o e quali ica ion?
• Wha de e mines whe he i is an accep able comp omise o a agedy o someone?
• Wha policies o p ac ices in sending and des ina ion coun ies could help mi iga e i s
nega i e e ec s?
2.4 Re u n Mig a ion: Mo i a ions, Challenges, and Possibili ies
Backg ound
Re u n mig a ion is shaped by mul iple ac o s and can be seen as ei he a success ( a ge
ea ne s) o ailu e, e lec ed in SWB. Beyond psychological and emo ional aspec s, is a
“smoo h” e u n mig a ion uly easible? Is Hunga ian socie y and he labou ma ke p epa ed
o ein eg a e e u nees? The MIGWELL p ojec eached ela i ely ew e u nees, so ou
indings he e a e limi ed.
Discussion ques ions:
• How do you see he possibili ies and challenges o e u n mig a ion?
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• Wha policies o p ac ices could suppo success ul ein eg a ion?
• Wha a e he key dilemmas and challenges aced by e u ning Hunga ians?
2.5 Key Topics o Fu he Resea ch (op ional)
Discussion ques ion:
• In you iew, wha a e he mos impo an a eas o u u e esea ch o be e unde s and
mig a ion om Hunga y, and speci ically mig a ion om Hunga y o Aus ia?
