Identity is a central element for European integration and influences attitudes towards various policy areas, also in the case of migration. A large part of the empirical EU literature builds on a binary conceptualization of identity, which essentially distinguishes between EU citizens that have integrated some (not specified) form of a European dimension into their identity – versus those that have exclusively national or regional identities. Such a binary conception ignores the different forms European identities can take. An exclusive version of a European identity can strengthen the aversion to migration from outside the EU. On the other extreme, a European identity that expresses an inclusive view of society is associated with a more liberal approach to migration policy. Based on this premise, this paper develops a more nuanced conceptualization of European identities and relates them to preferences in migration politics. As a first empirical step, we study the link between European identities and migration policy preferences using established cross-country data. Furthermore, we use a survey experiment to analyze how stable identity influences preferences on migration. In times in which the policy answer of the EU to the challenge of migration is at the heart of a contested EU, getting a grasp of how European identities shape migration preferences is crucial.