In recent years leading up to 2020, family immigration decreased, but from 2020 to 2022, it has been on the rise again. Of the total 363,000 family immigrants who arrived between 1990 and 2022, 33 percent were from the EU/EFTA area and 67 percent from outside the EU/EFTA area.
Of those who immigrated from the EU/EFTA area, 64 percent came as labour immigrants. The number of family immigrants, particularly reunifications, increased significantly after labour immigration accelerated following the EU expansions in the mid and late 2000s. A total of 26 percent came for family reasons. Most of these arrived for family reunification, likely to reunite with a labour immigrant. On the other hand, those establishing families from EU/EFTA countries largely immigrated to individuals in the general population, meaning people who are neither immigrants nor Norwegian-born with immigrant parents. Many also came to establish a family with a labour immigrant, particularly one with a background from Poland, Lithuania, or Romania.
Generally, family immigrants from EU/EFTA countries tend to stay in the country longer than those who arrived for work or education. Nearly seven out of ten people who came for family establishment and three out of ten people who came for reunification in the early 1990s are still residing in the country thirty years later.
Among those who immigrated from outside the EU/EFTA area, the majority—41 percent—came for family reasons. Around three in ten family immigrants from third countries immigrated to join a refugee. This represents 42 percent of all those who immigrated to join an immigrant. Among those who immigrate for family reunification, nearly nine out of ten joined immigrants. In contrast, most family establishers immigrated to join someone in the general population.
Family immigrants joining the general population, Norwegian-born with immigrant parents, refugees, and other family immigrants tend to stay longer than those joining education or labour immigrants. Family immigrants who come to people who are not immigrants themselves, or who are immigrants but rarely emigrate from the country, tend to stay longer than those who come to immigrant groups with higher re-emigration rates.
As more Norwegian-born individuals with immigrant parents reach marriageable age, we see in Chapter 4 that the proportion who are married in certain age groups has decreased since 2000. It is slightly more common to be married for Norwegian-born individuals with immigrant parents than for those without an immigrant background. Generally, Norwegian-born women with immigrant parents are more likely to be married than men. However, there are variations between groups based on country of origin and gender. Among Norwegian-born individuals with immigrant parents who are cohabiting with shared children, a smaller proportion are living with someone of the same national background compared to those who are married and living with children. Additionally, a larger proportion of cohabitants with shared children are partnered with someone from the general population.
Although many relationships last a lifetime, this does not apply to all. Chapter 5 analyses break-ups among family establishers who immigrated to Norway between 2000-2013, particularly looking at the frequency of break-ups in the first years after arrival. The analysis shows that relationships where both partners have an immigrant background are more stable than relationships where one spouse doesn’t have an immigrant background, especially where the family establisher is a man and the reference person is a woman without an immigrant background. Family establishments where the reference person is Norwegian-born with immigrant parents prove to be the most stable.