Different theoretical frameworks offer competing explanations for the settlement patterns and residential mobility of international migrants. Some highlight migrants' neighbourhood preferences, whereas others emphasise structural constraints in the housing market. This paper aims to test three theories on migrants' socio‐spatial mobility—the theories of spatial assimilation, place stratification, and ethnic preference—by investigating the extent to which migrants move away from distressed immigrant‐dense neighbourhoods in the Swedish cities of Stockholm and Malmö, as well as the timing of that mobility. Applying discrete‐time event history analysis to unique Swedish longitudinal register data, the paper reveals considerable differences in the residential mobility patterns between migrant groups and between the two cities. It also finds that newly arrived migrants are more likely to move away from distressed areas compared with long‐established ones. These results cast doubt on the spatial assimilation theory, indicating evidence for the place stratification theory. The paper contributes to an enhanced understanding of the determinants of residential segregation in Swedish metropolitan areas.

Despite time being a key element in the theories on international migrants’ socio-spatial mobility, it has not been sufficiently addressed in empirical research. Most studies focus on discrete transitions between different types of neighbourhoods, potentially missing theoretically important temporal aspects. This article uses sequence analysis to study the residential trajectories of international migrants in Sweden emphasising the timing, order, and duration of residence in neighbourhoods with different poverty levels. It follows individuals of the 2003 arrival cohort during their first 9 years in the country. Results show that 81% of migrants consistently reside in the same type of neighbourhood; 60% consistently live in a deprived area and mere 12% follow a trajectories starting at deprived and ending at middle-income or affluent neighbourhoods. Thus, spatial assimilation is neither the only nor the most frequent trajectory followed by migrants in Sweden. Lastly, there are persistent differences in neighbourhood attainment between immigrant groups, suggesting either place stratification or ethnic preference.

Many countries actively seek to disperse refugees to counteract residential segregation or/and take measures to attract and retain international migrants in smaller communities to mitigate or reverse population decline. This study explores the regional distribution and inter-regional mobility among refugees in Sweden. It uses individual-level register data to follow two cohorts for 8 years after their arrival in Sweden, distinguishing between refugees subject to a placement policy in the 1990s and recent cohorts that either had arranged their own housing or had been assigned housing. It uses sequence analysis and multinomial logit regression to analyse regional trajectories, and event history analysis to examine mobility determinants. The results indicate that most refugees remained in the same type of region throughout the period. A significant proportion of refugees with assigned housing in large city or small city/rural regions stayed there over a long period, suggesting that refugee settlement policies have long-lasting consequences.

Migrant integration is an issue at the forefront of political debates in many immigrant-receiving countries. Within academia, a rich body of neighbourhood effects literature examines the significance of the residential environment for the socioeconomic integration of international migrants. Another strand of research explores the associations between immigrants’ initial region of residence and their subsequent socioeconomic integration. Existing research focuses on a single dimension of geographical context and on the neighbourhood scale. Using Swedish longitudinal register data, we estimate discrete-time event history models to assess how regional and neighbourhood contexts influence refugees’ entry into employment. Our study includes all refugees who arrived in Sweden between 2000 and 2009, distinguishing between three categories of refugees: refugees with assigned housing, refugees with self-arranged housing and quota refugees. Our results reveal a clear pattern where the most advantageous regions for finding a first employment are those at the extremes of the population density distribution: the Stockholm region and small city/rural regions. Refugees residing in Malmö have the lowest probability of entering the labour market. Our study also reiterates existing concerns regarding the negative effects of ethnic segregation at the neighbourhood level on labour market participation.