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We combine evidence with the lived experience of migrants to make policy and services work better for everyone in Scotland.

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New: Attitudes to Immigration in Scotland 2026

Just published: the fourth wave of our annual representative survey finds growing polarisation, hardening views, and social contact emerging as a key dividing factor. Explore four years of trend data and download the full report.

Read the 2026 report

Our approach

  • Start from lived experience

    Good migration policy starts with the people who live it. Migrants shape our work through our Lived Experience Panel, peer research and internships.

  • Build the evidence base

    We build the knowledge Scotland needs for an informed debate on migration – from our annual Attitudes to Immigration survey to a growing observatory function.

  • Connect thinking and doing

    Our policy laboratories bring policymakers, practitioners and migrants together to turn evidence into practical solutions that get used.

  • Work across the full spectrum

    We look at every route and reason that brings people to Scotland, and bring migration into wider social and economic policy thinking.

Attitudes to immigration in Scotland

Since 2023 we have tracked what people in Scotland actually think about immigration. Four waves of representative data show where views are settled, where they are shifting, and where public opinion and policy part company.

Read the 2026 report

Support for recruitment from abroad by type of role. Source: Migration Policy Scotland Attitudes to Immigration Survey.

Attitudes to immigration in Scotland
Statement Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Don't know
Enforce wage regulations better so workers from abroad do not undercut British workers 80.6 10.4 5.1 3.9
Sectors with critical shortages (e.g. health and social care) should be able to recruit from abroad 73.2 10.4 15 1.4
Temporary and seasonal sectors (e.g. farming) should be able to recruit from abroad 70.5 12.7 15.3 1.5
Employers recruiting from abroad should pay into a UK skills training fund 62.8 20.5 11.7 5
Employers should be able to recruit from abroad to fill vacancies 52.7 19.1 26.9 1.3
Employers should not be able to recruit from abroad, even without British staff available 14.1 13.5 69.5 3

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Our impact

  • Our peer research had a direct impact on the tender and service design of the new Scotland’s Migration Service.

    Shaina Gabi, MPS Lived Experience Panel Representative

  • MPS’s approach to integrating lived experience brought invaluable insights to our work

    Colin Carroll, Scottish Government

  • The MPS Attitudes to Immigration in Scotland Survey is transforming the evidence base

    Prof Bobby Duffy, Kings College London

  • MPS has created a positive, respectful culture of participation whcih was valuable to all involved and offers a leading edge model of good practice

    Independent Strategic Review, 2006

Learning from experience

Good migration policy starts with the people who live it. Our Lived Experience Panel sits at the heart of MPS – shaping research questions, conducting peer research in their own communities, and co-designing the tools and training our projects produce. It’s a model others in the sector now come to us to learn from.

Lived Experience Panel

Stay connected

We’re a small team doing a lot. The best ways to keep up with our work, or start working with us:

Migration Policy Scotland is not a frontline agency. If you are a migrant and need support, please see our list of resources.