Adopting an aspirations and capability framework, this study focuses on how integration experiences shape (im)mobility aspirations of forcibly displaced individuals residing in low- and middle-income countries. By drawing on survey experiments conducted in Turkey, it explores how the employment and housing conditions, as well as the availability of schooling opportunities for children, affect forced migrants’ mobility aspirations. The findings reveal that experiences in the host country exert significant effects on the mobility aspirations of forced migrants, yet to varying extents. The results further demonstrate that the effects of host country conditions are not uniform but rather contingent on individuals’ valued life goals.

The contribution of this paper is threefold. Firstly, this study sheds light on mobility aspirations of forced migrants in low- and middle-income countries by presenting evidence from one of the top refugee-hosting countries in the Global South. As such, it expands the discussions on how integration experiences affect mobility aspirations in resource-restrained country contexts where a striking majority of the globally displaced population resides. Secondly, while earlier studies largely relied on observational data and correlational analysis of complex interdependencies shaping mobility aspirations, by utilizing an experimental design, the current study provides the much-needed direct evidence causally linking several aspects of integration experiences to mobility aspirations of forced migrants. Finally, by identifying the conditions under which forced migrants aspire to settle in the host country or move elsewhere, this study provides valuable input for developing tailor-made policies to support durable solutions for displaced populations in low- and middle-income countries.