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Recent research has explored the influence of the motivations and preferences of scientists (their ‘taste for science’, or preference for basic research, independence, publishing and peer recognition) on career decisions such as selection in industry versus academia. This paper continues this stream of research by examining the role played by the motivations of academic scientists in the international mobility decision. We hypothesize that the motivations of scientists affect the outcome of the international mobility decision since they determine the impact of the incentives for moving faced by the scientist. We test this hypothesis with a sample of Belgian academic scientists in all academic fields using the Belgian Career of Doctorate Holders survey. We find that those who are motivated by a desire for independent research are more likely to leave Belgium, and those who are motivated by salary are less likely to do so. More generally, we find a positive relationship between a higher taste for science and international mobility. However, these effects are not present in the social sciences and humanities. While motivations appear to play a role in the outcome of the scientist’s migration decision, descriptive analyses indicate that they have less impact on the behavior of mobile scientists, as we observe little correlation between the motivations of mobile scientists and the reason for leaving Belgium or their destination.