Migration related intentions to stay in Germany or return to home country are conceptualized in different contexts in research on migration and integration. With the German Socio-economic Panel dataset (SOEP) provided by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) it is possible to undertake comprehensive longitudinal and cross-sectional studies on this topic. The paper describes which variables are included in the SOEP concerning this matter, identifies some constraints of the information provided and shows an exemplary analysis