This article was first published in Norwegian, in Statistics Norway’s journal Samfunnsspeilet: Dzamarija, Minja Tea og Toril Sandnes (2016): Familieinnvandring til flyktninger 1990–2015. Hvor mange får familien til Norge? Samfunnsspeilet 4/2016. Statistisk sentralbyrå.
In the period 1990–2015, 141 300 refugees found their way to Norway and were granted a residence permit. A total of 45 100 family members of 23 500 of these refugees have subsequently been accepted into Norway. This means that the majority of refugees do not have any family here. Country background has a large bearing on family immigration rates.
According to the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI), more than 31 000 people applied for asylum in Norway in 2015, mostly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq (see UDI’s overview in this issue of Samfunnsspeilet). Questions have been raised about the need to restrict the right to family immigration for refugees. In the wake of the refugee crisis, it has been argued that the record number of asylum seekers in Norway in 2015 will trigger a marked increase in family immigration.
It is too soon to comment on family immigration among refugees who arrived in 2015, but the family immigration patterns of earlier refugees can give us an idea of the scope of the future family immigration. Statistics Norway has figures on reason for immigration from 1990 to 2015. During this period, 738 000 people immigrated to Norway from countries outside the Nordic region, and 141 300 of these were refugees.
One in every five immigrants in Norway was a refugee, which corresponds to 2.7 per cent of the population. Norway has refugees from 169 different countries, with most from Somalia, Iraq and Eritrea. Family immigrants of refugees make up just under one- fifth of all family immigrants, i.e. 45 100 of a total of 267 000 family immigrants (see the textbox for an explanation of terms).
0.32 family members per refugee
Family immigration has always played a key role in the growth of immigrant groups. The large influx of refugees has raised important questions in relation to immigration and integration policy. How many of those who have been granted residence in Norway will remain in the country? What is the scope of family-related immigration likely to be in the next few years?
This article examines immigrants who came to Norway in the period 1990–2015 as the family member of a refugee (reference person, see the box) who arrived during the same period. An average of 0.32 family members per refugee arrived during the period. This rate does not, however, take into account two important dimensions of family immigration, which we will examine later in this article:
- The time aspect, i.e. how long it takes for a refugee to get a family member to Norway – which can vary considerably.
- Multi-stage family immigration.
Seventeen per cent (23 500) of refugees have been able to get family members to Norway (see Figure 1). Eighty-three per cent have never acted as a reference person. Sixty per cent of the refugees who are registered as a reference person are only associated with one family member, while 15 per cent have two family members in Norway. In total, 1 900 refugees (8 per cent) have managed to get five or more family members into Norway. Among these are a few cases that have triggered an unusually high number of family immigrants; 54 reference persons, mostly from Somalia and Iraq, are registered with ten or more family members.
Meeting the requirements for family immigration can take time
As time passes, the number of family immigrants accepted into Norway will increase as the reference person, in this case a refugee, fulfils the various requirements for family immigration, such as four years of education or work in Norway (Lovdata).
Meeting these requirements may take several years, so we have also examined family immigrants during the period 1990–2015 for refugees who arrived during the period 1990–2010. The average for this sub-group is 0.37 family members per refugee. Refugees who arrived in Norway after 2010 constitute a relatively large share of the total number of refugees, but few have managed to get family members into Norway.
We have calculated the number of family immigrants of refugees for each year from 1990 to 2015. Men and women who immigrated as refugees in the period 2002–2003 had the most family immigrants per reference person. The figures peaked in 2002, with 0.73 family immigrants per refugee. Refugees who arrived in Norway after 2012 have not been here long enough to secure as many family immigrants as can perhaps be expected
Somalis and Iraqis have highest family immigration levels
The share of family immigrants of refugees varies by country background. Somalis make up the largest refugee group in Norway, and together with Iraqis, have the most family members in Norway through family immigration
A total of almost 17 900 refugees from Somalia arrived in Norway in the years 1990 to 2015. This group now has 12 300 family members in the country as a result of family immigration in the same period. The numbers have varied, and reached a peak around the turn of the millennium.
The entire 2002 cohort as a whole currently has the most family immigrants, with 1.30 per refugee. The family immigration rate for Somalia for the period 1990–2015 is 0.68 family members per refugee, which is roughly double the rate for all refugees as a whole in the same 15-year period (0.32).
The influx of refugees from Somalia has been high in several of the years since the turn of the millennium. It is therefore reasonable to assume that future family immigration among these refugees will be even higher than pre-2015 levels. However, there has also been a substantial decline in immigration from Somalia in the past two to three years. In 2013, the number of newly arrived refugees was 1 400, compared to just 200 in 2015 (Dzamarija and Sandnes 2016).
Iraqis make up the second largest refugee group in Norway. In the period 1990–2015, 14 500 refugees arrived from Iraq. A total of 8 500 family immigrants of this group have subsequently come to Norway, which corresponds to 0.58 family members per refugee. The largest cohorts from around the turn of the millennium have led to the bulk of family immigration. The 1999 cohort tops the list with 1.29 family members per refugee. In absolute numbers, the 2000 cohort stands out with high immigration figures: 3 500 refugees from Iraq have received 3 000 family immigrants, which corresponds to 0.86 family members per refugee.
Since 2010, the number of refugees and family immigrants from Iraq has been modest. It is therefore reasonable to assume that future family immigration for these groups will be correspondingly low.
Many of the asylum seekers who came to Norway in autumn 2015 were from Iraq. If they are all granted residence in Norway, the number of Iraqi family immigrants is likely to increase.
For Bosnians and Kosovan Albanians, the number of years in Norway has not had such a large bearing on family immigration. These refugee groups mostly came to Norway as families, and there are very few from these countries who can now be granted residence as a refugee in Norway.
Many Syrians awaiting residence to be granted
Since the large influx in 2015, Syrian citizens are by far the largest group in Norwegian asylum reception centres in 2016. Statistics Norway’s statistics do not include asylum seekers awaiting a decision, but the number of settled Syrian immigrants almost doubled in 2015.
It is too soon to know the scope of family immigration for Syrians who came to Norway as asylum seekers in 2015, or who were settled as refugees in this year, but we know that the 2013 cohort, made up of just under 1 000 people, has resulted in 0.37 family immigrants per refugee. The 2015 cohort is the largest, with 3 500 registered settled refugees, but they understandably have very few family immigrants so far.
Female family immigrants in the majority
Of the family immigrants who have arrived since 1990, 77 per cent have come through family reunification, while the remainder have come to establish a new family through marriage (see box for explanation of terms). A total of 61 per cent of all family immigrants in the period 1990–2015 were women.
Two countries stand out in several stages of family immigration
Further examination of the figures can show whether those who came to Norway as a family member of a refugee subsequently became a reference person for one or more family immigrants. Figures for the period from 1990 to 2015 show that 2 600 (6 per cent) of the 45 100 family immigrants have become a reference person, and have brought 3 450 new family members to the country
