The integration of immigrating spouses in Germany , Date: 2014.05.07, format: project (finished), area: Authority

Investigation of the integration of immigrating spouses from third states

Spouses from third states constitute a major group among newly-arrived migrants in Germany. More than 300,000 women and men entered Germany in the context of spousal reunification between 2005, when the new Immigration Act (Zuwanderungsgesetz) was introduced, and the end of 2012. This group is highly important in terms of social policy since one may presume that the majority will remain in Germany permanently and that spousal reunification will remain a major form of immigration.

Central research question of the Marriage Migration Study 2013

The BAMF's Marriage Migration Study 2013 (BAMF-Heiratsmigrationsstudie 2013) took a quantitative approach questions on spouses who have entered Germany since 2005 with the following research-related questions:#

1. What assumptions do spouses have on arriving from abroad in respect of schooling and professional training?
2. What is the situation of spouses about coming from abroad in the initial years after immigration to Germany?
3. In which relevant areas of integration (e.g. German-language skills, work, contacts, ties) are their problems and in which are their encouraging outcomes?
4. To what extent are existing integration programmes being taken advantage of and how are they evaluated?

Nationwide questionnaires in 2013

To this end, a nationwide investigation was carried out in 2013 with 2.497 standardised interviews in order to obtain authoritative results. The findings of the BAMF's Marriage Migration Study 2013 (BAMF-Heiratsmigrationsstudie 2013) are to provided more detailed information on a group of migrants who will also contribute towards shaping integration-related events in Germany in the coming years. The data will make it possible to recognise any specific difficulties encountered with regard to integration within this gr oup. The study will therefore help to initiate measures to guide the integration process at an early stage.