diff --git a/.agents/skills/mops-cli/SKILL.md b/.agents/skills/mops-cli/SKILL.md
index d1d443ce..230f4703 100644
--- a/.agents/skills/mops-cli/SKILL.md
+++ b/.agents/skills/mops-cli/SKILL.md
@@ -144,6 +144,8 @@ mops migrate freeze backend       # specify canister explicitly
 
 When `[canisters.<name>.migrations]` is configured, `mops check`, `mops build`, and `mops check-stable` automatically inject `--enhanced-migration`. Do not add `--enhanced-migration` to `[canisters.<name>].args` when using managed migrations — mops will error.
 
+`chain` and `next` must live in the same parent directory. Migration files can import from sibling folders via relative paths (e.g. shared types in `src/backend/types/`); mops stages the active chain into `<parent-of-chain>/.migrations-<canister>/`, preserving depth so relative imports resolve identically. The staged dir self-stamps a `.gitignore`; `mops init` also adds `.migrations-*/` to the project `.gitignore`.
+
 Typical workflow: make a breaking change → `mops check` fails with a hint → `mops migrate new Name` → edit migration → `mops check` passes → `mops build` → deploy → `mops migrate freeze`.
 
 ### `mops remove <package>`
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 4c9b67fc..f7764cfa 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ target/
 dist/
 .dfx/
 .mops/
+.migrations-*/
 mops.lock
 
 .DS_Store
diff --git a/cli/CHANGELOG.md b/cli/CHANGELOG.md
index ea0cfab2..84916a4e 100644
--- a/cli/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/cli/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 # Mops CLI Changelog
 
 ## Next
+- Migration staging directory moved from `.mops/.migrations/<canister>/` to `<parent-of-chain>/.migrations-<canister>/`, so migration files can import shared modules from sibling folders (e.g. a `types/` folder next to `migrations/`) — relative imports now resolve to the same target whether moc reads the original chain dir or the staged one. The staged dir self-stamps a `.gitignore` so it doesn't pollute `git status`; `mops init` now also adds `.migrations-*/` to the project `.gitignore`
+- `[canisters.<name>.migrations]` now requires `chain` and `next` to share the same parent directory (any layout where the parents differed is rejected with a clear error). The default layout `chain = "migrations"` + `next = "next-migration"` already satisfies this. For per-canister setups, use sibling subdirectories, e.g. `chain = "src/backend/migrations"` + `next = "src/backend/next-migration"`
 
 ## 2.11.0
 - Add `mops migrate new <Name>` and `mops migrate freeze` commands for managing enhanced migration chains
diff --git a/cli/commands/init.ts b/cli/commands/init.ts
index 43cf7e5a..107fa815 100644
--- a/cli/commands/init.ts
+++ b/cli/commands/init.ts
@@ -282,16 +282,29 @@ async function applyInit({
     await template("github-workflow:mops-test");
   }
 
-  // add .mops to .gitignore
+  // add mops-managed paths to .gitignore
   {
     let gitignore = path.join(process.cwd(), ".gitignore");
     let gitignoreData = existsSync(gitignore)
       ? readFileSync(gitignore).toString()
       : "";
-    let lf = gitignoreData.endsWith("\n") ? "\n" : "";
+    const additions: string[] = [];
     if (!gitignoreData.includes(".mops")) {
-      writeFileSync(gitignore, `${gitignoreData}\n.mops${lf}`.trimStart());
-      console.log(chalk.green("Added"), ".mops to .gitignore");
+      additions.push(".mops");
+    }
+    if (!gitignoreData.includes(".migrations-")) {
+      additions.push(".migrations-*/");
+    }
+    if (additions.length > 0) {
+      let lf = gitignoreData.endsWith("\n") ? "\n" : "";
+      writeFileSync(
+        gitignore,
+        `${gitignoreData}\n${additions.join("\n")}${lf}`.trimStart(),
+      );
+      console.log(
+        chalk.green("Added"),
+        `${additions.join(", ")} to .gitignore`,
+      );
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/cli/helpers/migrations.ts b/cli/helpers/migrations.ts
index 43792c8b..cb7af07c 100644
--- a/cli/helpers/migrations.ts
+++ b/cli/helpers/migrations.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,20 @@
-import { existsSync, mkdirSync, readdirSync, symlinkSync } from "node:fs";
-import { join, resolve } from "node:path";
+import {
+  existsSync,
+  mkdirSync,
+  readdirSync,
+  symlinkSync,
+  writeFileSync,
+} from "node:fs";
+import { dirname, join, resolve } from "node:path";
 import { rm } from "node:fs/promises";
 import chalk from "chalk";
 import { cliError } from "../error.js";
-import { resolveConfigPath } from "../mops.js";
+import { getRootDir, resolveConfigPath } from "../mops.js";
 import { MigrationsConfig } from "../types.js";
 
-const MIGRATIONS_TEMP_DIR = ".mops/.migrations";
+function stagedMigrationsDir(chainDir: string, canisterName: string): string {
+  return join(dirname(chainDir), `.migrations-${canisterName}`);
+}
 
 export interface MigrationArgsResult {
   migrationArgs: string[];
@@ -70,6 +78,21 @@ export function validateMigrationsConfig(
       );
     }
   }
+  if (migrations.next) {
+    const parentOf = (p: string) => dirname(resolve(getRootDir(), p));
+    const chainParent = parentOf(migrations.chain);
+    const nextParent = parentOf(migrations.next);
+    if (chainParent !== nextParent) {
+      cliError(
+        `[canisters.${canisterName}.migrations] "chain" and "next" must live in the same parent directory.\n` +
+          `  chain = "${migrations.chain}" (parent: ${chainParent})\n` +
+          `  next  = "${migrations.next}" (parent: ${nextParent})\n` +
+          "Place them in the same parent directory, e.g.:\n" +
+          '  chain = "migrations"\n' +
+          '  next  = "next-migration"',
+      );
+    }
+  }
 }
 
 export async function prepareMigrationArgs(
@@ -130,9 +153,10 @@ export async function prepareMigrationArgs(
     };
   }
 
-  const tempDir = join(MIGRATIONS_TEMP_DIR, canisterName);
+  const tempDir = stagedMigrationsDir(chainDir, canisterName);
   await rm(tempDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
   mkdirSync(tempDir, { recursive: true });
+  writeFileSync(join(tempDir, ".gitignore"), "*\n");
 
   const filesToInclude = isTrimming
     ? allMigrations.slice(-limit)
diff --git a/cli/tests/__snapshots__/migrate.test.ts.snap b/cli/tests/__snapshots__/migrate.test.ts.snap
index 314d4683..e9cddc77 100644
--- a/cli/tests/__snapshots__/migrate.test.ts.snap
+++ b/cli/tests/__snapshots__/migrate.test.ts.snap
@@ -33,12 +33,12 @@ actor  {
 
 exports[`migrate build build-limit counts next migration as part of the chain 1`] = `
 "// Version: 4.0.0
+type V2__933402648 = {a : Nat; name : Text};
+type V3__40989327 = {a : Nat; email : Text; name : Text};
+type V4__364034734 = {email : Text; id : Nat; name : Text};
 {
-  "20250301_000000_AddEmail" :
-    (old : {a : Nat; name : Text}) -> {a : Nat; email : Text; name : Text};
-  "20250401_000000_RenameId" :
-    (old : {a : Nat; email : Text; name : Text}) ->
-      {email : Text; id : Nat; name : Text}
+  "20250301_000000_AddEmail" : (old : V2__933402648) -> V3__40989327;
+  "20250401_000000_RenameId" : (old : V3__40989327) -> V4__364034734
 }
 actor  {
   stable email : Text;
@@ -75,10 +75,10 @@ exports[`migrate check check with trimming shows reduced chain 1`] = `
   "stdout": "check Using --all-libs for richer diagnostics
 migrations Prepared 2 migration(s) for backend (trimmed from 3)
 check Checking canister backend:
-<CACHE>moc-wrapper ["src/main.mo","--check","--all-libs","--default-persistent-actors","--enhanced-migration=.mops/.migrations/backend","-A=M0254"]
+<CACHE>moc-wrapper ["src/main.mo","--check","--all-libs","--default-persistent-actors","--enhanced-migration=.migrations-backend","-A=M0254"]
 ✓ backend
 check-stable Generating stable types for src/main.mo
-<CACHE>moc-wrapper ["--stable-types","-o",".mops/.check-stable/new.wasm","src/main.mo","--default-persistent-actors","--enhanced-migration=.mops/.migrations/backend","-A=M0254"]
+<CACHE>moc-wrapper ["--stable-types","-o",".mops/.check-stable/new.wasm","src/main.mo","--default-persistent-actors","--enhanced-migration=.migrations-backend","-A=M0254"]
 check-stable Comparing deployed.most ↔ .mops/.check-stable/new.most
 <CACHE>moc-wrapper ["--stable-compatible","deployed.most",".mops/.check-stable/new.most"]
 ✓ Stable compatibility check passed for canister 'backend'",
diff --git a/cli/tests/migrate.test.ts b/cli/tests/migrate.test.ts
index ea161336..a53171d4 100644
--- a/cli/tests/migrate.test.ts
+++ b/cli/tests/migrate.test.ts
@@ -207,6 +207,33 @@ describe("migrate", () => {
     });
   });
 
+  describe("sibling validation", () => {
+    async function patchNextDir(cwd: string, nextValue: string): Promise<void> {
+      const tomlPath = path.join(cwd, "mops.toml");
+      const toml = readFileSync(tomlPath, "utf-8");
+      await writeFile(
+        tomlPath,
+        toml.replace('next = "next-migration"', `next = "${nextValue}"`),
+      );
+    }
+
+    test("errors from `mops check` when chain and next have different parents", async () => {
+      const cwd = await makeTempFixture("with-next");
+      await patchNextDir(cwd, "other/next-migration");
+      const result = await cli(["check"], { cwd });
+      expect(result.exitCode).toBe(1);
+      expect(result.stderr).toMatch(/same parent directory/i);
+    });
+
+    test("errors from `mops migrate new` too — validation runs in every entry point", async () => {
+      const cwd = await makeTempFixture("basic");
+      await patchNextDir(cwd, "other/next-migration");
+      const result = await cli(["migrate", "new", "Test"], { cwd });
+      expect(result.exitCode).toBe(1);
+      expect(result.stderr).toMatch(/same parent directory/i);
+    });
+  });
+
   describe("conflict detection", () => {
     test("errors when both [migrations] and --enhanced-migration in args", async () => {
       const cwd = await makeTempFixture("basic");
diff --git a/cli/tests/migrate/with-next/migrations/20250101_000000_Init.mo b/cli/tests/migrate/with-next/migrations/20250101_000000_Init.mo
index 192370fd..f3a52109 100644
--- a/cli/tests/migrate/with-next/migrations/20250101_000000_Init.mo
+++ b/cli/tests/migrate/with-next/migrations/20250101_000000_Init.mo
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
+import State "../types/State";
+
 module {
-  public func migration(_ : {}) : { a : Nat } {
+  public func migration(_ : State.V0) : State.V1 {
     { a = 0 };
   };
 };
diff --git a/cli/tests/migrate/with-next/migrations/20250201_000000_AddName.mo b/cli/tests/migrate/with-next/migrations/20250201_000000_AddName.mo
index 6a0b42e4..98b22af7 100644
--- a/cli/tests/migrate/with-next/migrations/20250201_000000_AddName.mo
+++ b/cli/tests/migrate/with-next/migrations/20250201_000000_AddName.mo
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
+import State "../types/State";
+
 module {
-  public func migration(old : { a : Nat }) : { a : Nat; name : Text } {
+  public func migration(old : State.V1) : State.V2 {
     { old with name = "" };
   };
 };
diff --git a/cli/tests/migrate/with-next/migrations/20250301_000000_AddEmail.mo b/cli/tests/migrate/with-next/migrations/20250301_000000_AddEmail.mo
index 50f28496..a4563367 100644
--- a/cli/tests/migrate/with-next/migrations/20250301_000000_AddEmail.mo
+++ b/cli/tests/migrate/with-next/migrations/20250301_000000_AddEmail.mo
@@ -1,9 +1,7 @@
+import State "../types/State";
+
 module {
-  public func migration(old : { a : Nat; name : Text }) : {
-    a : Nat;
-    name : Text;
-    email : Text;
-  } {
+  public func migration(old : State.V2) : State.V3 {
     { old with email = "" };
   };
 };
diff --git a/cli/tests/migrate/with-next/next-migration/20250401_000000_RenameId.mo b/cli/tests/migrate/with-next/next-migration/20250401_000000_RenameId.mo
index 8d0b5eb1..0bde56b6 100644
--- a/cli/tests/migrate/with-next/next-migration/20250401_000000_RenameId.mo
+++ b/cli/tests/migrate/with-next/next-migration/20250401_000000_RenameId.mo
@@ -1,9 +1,7 @@
+import State "../types/State";
+
 module {
-  public func migration(old : { a : Nat; name : Text; email : Text }) : {
-    id : Nat;
-    name : Text;
-    email : Text;
-  } {
+  public func migration(old : State.V3) : State.V4 {
     { id = old.a; name = old.name; email = old.email };
   };
 };
diff --git a/cli/tests/migrate/with-next/types/State.mo b/cli/tests/migrate/with-next/types/State.mo
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2a144e74
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/tests/migrate/with-next/types/State.mo
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+module {
+  public type V0 = {};
+  public type V1 = { a : Nat };
+  public type V2 = { a : Nat; name : Text };
+  public type V3 = { a : Nat; name : Text; email : Text };
+  public type V4 = { id : Nat; name : Text; email : Text };
+};
diff --git a/docs/docs/09-mops.toml.md b/docs/docs/09-mops.toml.md
index 98907446..951c17ff 100644
--- a/docs/docs/09-mops.toml.md
+++ b/docs/docs/09-mops.toml.md
@@ -116,8 +116,8 @@ Multi-canister example with per-canister flags:
 main = "src/backend/main.mo"
 
 [canisters.backend.migrations]
-chain = "migrations/backend"
-next = "next-migration/backend"
+chain = "migrations/backend/chain"
+next = "migrations/backend/next"
 
 [canisters.frontend]
 main = "src/frontend/main.mo"
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ Configure managed enhanced migration chains for a canister. When set, `mops chec
 | Field       | Description                                                     |
 | ----------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
 | chain       | Path to the directory containing frozen migration files (required) |
-| next        | Path to the directory for the next pending migration (optional). Required for `mops migrate new/freeze`. Must contain 0 or 1 `.mo` files |
+| next        | Path to the directory for the next pending migration (optional). Required for `mops migrate new/freeze`. Must contain 0 or 1 `.mo` files. Must share the same parent directory as `chain` |
 | check-limit | Max number of migrations to pass to `moc` during `mops check` and `mops check-stable` (optional). Counts the full chain including any pending next migration |
 | build-limit | Max number of migrations to pass to `moc` during `mops build` (optional). Counts the full chain including any pending next migration |
 
@@ -165,6 +165,10 @@ Migration files must be named so they sort lexicographically in the correct orde
 When `[migrations]` is configured, do not add `--enhanced-migration` to `[canisters.<name>].args` — mops manages this flag automatically.
 :::
 
+:::note
+When a `next` migration exists or chain trimming is active, mops stages the active chain into `<parent-of-chain>/.migrations-<canister>/` for compilation. This keeps the staged files at the same depth as the originals so relative imports (e.g. a shared `types/` folder next to `chain` and `next`) resolve identically. The staged dir self-stamps a `.gitignore`, and `mops init` adds `.migrations-*/` to the project `.gitignore`.
+:::
+
 Shorthand — when only the entrypoint is needed:
 ```toml
 [canisters]
diff --git a/docs/docs/cli/00-mops-init.md b/docs/docs/cli/00-mops-init.md
index 52c92c5d..aa6a1b7a 100644
--- a/docs/docs/cli/00-mops-init.md
+++ b/docs/docs/cli/00-mops-init.md
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ When accepted, adds `.github/workflows/mops-test.yml` that runs `mops test` on p
 5. **`LICENSE`** (and `NOTICE` for Apache-2.0) — package only, filled with the current year and copyright owner.
 6. **`README.md`** — package only, with placeholders replaced by the package name.
 7. **`.github/workflows/mops-test.yml`** — when the workflow prompt was accepted.
-8. **`.mops`** appended to `.gitignore` (created if missing).
+8. **`.mops`** and **`.migrations-*/`** appended to `.gitignore` (created if missing).
 
 Existing `LICENSE`, `README.md`, and workflow files are not overwritten.
 
diff --git a/docs/docs/cli/4-dev/08-mops-migrate.md b/docs/docs/cli/4-dev/08-mops-migrate.md
index 1f24adae..52266502 100644
--- a/docs/docs/cli/4-dev/08-mops-migrate.md
+++ b/docs/docs/cli/4-dev/08-mops-migrate.md
@@ -59,6 +59,8 @@ check-limit = 1
 build-limit = 100
 ```
 
+`chain` and `next` must live in the same parent directory. Migration files can import from sibling folders (e.g. a shared `types/` folder) using relative paths — mops stages the active chain into `<parent-of-chain>/.migrations-<canister>/` for compilation, preserving the depth of the originals so relative imports resolve identically. The staged dir self-stamps a `.gitignore`, and `mops init` adds `.migrations-*/` to the project `.gitignore`.
+
 See [`mops.toml` reference](/mops.toml#canistersnamemigrations) for all fields.
 
 ## Typical workflow