Many immigrate for family reasons

Published:

A total of 42 100 persons with non-Nordic citizenship immigrated to Norway in 2017 - 9 000 fewer than the year before. Family is now the most common reason for immigrating to Norway.

Written by: Minja Tea Dzamarija

Among the 42 100 persons with non-Nordic citizenship immigrating to Norway in 2017, family was the most common reason, with 16 000 persons, followed by 13 800 labour migrants and 7 800 refugees granted protection. Just over 4 000 persons immigrated to Norway for education in 2017, according to updated figures from Immigrants by reason for immigration. 

Among those who immigrated for family reasons, 12 000 persons arrived due to family reunification, while 4 000 came for family establishment by marriage. In the last group, 43 per cent married a person with a non-immigrant background. 

The immigration of non-Nordic citizens to Norway in 2017 was the lowest since 2006. Compared to the previous year, fewer refugees and labour migrants arrived in Norway. The number of refugees dropped by almost 50 per cent from 2016 to 2017. There was also a decrease in the number of persons immigrating for family reasons or for education.

Labour migration continues to fall   

Labour migration to Norway continues to fall. From a peak in 2011 of 26 700 labour migrants, the number has been falling every year since. In 2017, 13 800 persons immigrated for work – down 5 per cent from 2016.   

Labour migrants from Poland are still the largest group, with 3 600 persons arriving in 2017 – a decrease of 13 per cent from the previous year. The second largest group, labour migrants from Lithuania, increased by 4 per cent from 2016 to 2017. Nearly 2 000 Lithuanians immigrated to Norway for work in 2017.

Not everyone stays

Not everyone who immigrates to Norway stays here for the rest of their life. The reason for immigration has a bearing on whether they leave the country. Of those who immigrated for education from 1990 to 2017, only 38 per cent still lived here on 1 January 2018. The corresponding percentage for refugees was 86 per cent.

Many labour migrants leave Norway after some years. Among those who arrived in 2011, a peak year in labour migration, 67 per cent still lived in Norway on 1 January 2018.

Figure 1. Immigrations, by reason for immigration

Total Labour Family Refuge Education Other Unknown
1990 11058 1030 4568 4277 975 208
1991 11092 1050 4391 4509 1058 84
1992 12236 1152 4896 4997 1139 51 1
1993 16775 1140 4768 9613 1210 44
1994 11348 1215 4242 4596 1225 70
1995 10222 1427 4335 3085 1296 79
1996 9676 1487 4622 1988 1485 94
1997 11547 1859 5872 2138 1574 104
1998 14364 2508 6782 3137 1834 103
1999 22249 2078 7482 10638 1954 97
2000 18968 1997 7610 7144 2131 86
2001 17371 2376 8388 4270 2239 98
2002 22689 2706 12851 4494 2526 112
2003 19814 2379 9226 5512 2605 92
2004 21254 4063 9248 5084 2758 101
2005 23963 6433 10458 3936 3034 102
2006 29632 11778 11347 3160 3237 110
2007 44410 21377 13769 5275 3875 114
2008 48818 23249 16926 4464 4057 122
2009 44667 17926 15297 6459 4238 136 611
2010 50656 23754 15012 6411 5274 132 73
2011 54551 26729 16272 5359 5817 374
2012 56750 25542 18132 7188 5430 458
2013 54521 23543 17447 7377 5854 300
2014 50109 21412 16364 7027 5027 249 30
2015 49340 18092 16722 9280 4962 251 33
2016 51022 14583 16732 15230 4156 312 9
2017 42064 13839 15974 7808 4052 390 1

Figure 2. Resident immigrants, by reason for and year of immigration

Labour Family Refuge Education
1990 26.8 64.8 63.0 21.0
1991 19.9 60.6 63.5 23.7
1992 18.9 63.9 67.4 19.1
1993 16.1 63.0 69.4 19.3
1994 26.9 65.1 73.9 19.1
1995 28.8 66.6 75.9 18.0
1996 30.2 63.9 73.2 21.1
1997 32.9 66.5 79.1 21.5
1998 34.3 67.9 80.5 19.6
1999 34.7 71.5 57.6 23.7
2000 42.3 73.0 72.2 27.2
2001 44.2 72.9 86.6 29.3
2002 45.8 76.6 86.8 31.6
2003 48.3 78.0 91.6 30.6
2004 54.3 77.3 91.6 32.4
2005 59.3 78.1 92.5 34.8
2006 59.1 77.4 92.8 31.7
2007 59.4 77.3 91.0 29.8
2008 59.2 77.7 92.8 28.1
2009 67.2 77.3 94.8 31.9
2010 65.8 79.0 95.9 31.7
2011 67.1 78.5 95.8 32.3
2012 67.8 79.3 97.2 34.5
2013 71.8 80.0 96.6 36.1
2014 78.1 81.3 97.9 38.5
2015 85.8 88.6 99.6 59.1
2016 91.2 94.4 99.4 83.2
2017 98.5 99.1 99.8 98.0

Contact