marriage migration

A trend that has become more common with globalisation, increased mobility and large numbers of labour migrants in host societies. Family-linked migration includes marriage migration of second and subsequent generations who bring partners from their homeland into the host country, international marriages of citizens and non-citizens arising from tourism, education, business and professional activities, and finally the movement of entire families.

There are different strands of issues within this form of migration, ranging from uneven levels of development inside and among countries; the predominance of women marriage migrants; economic and social mobility; arranged marriages and the increasing number of Internet and mail-order brides; immigration policies, integration and identity; and the emergence of new citizens in migrant-receiving countries.

Marriage migrants who are women are at high risk of being subjected to specific forms of gender violence (psychological or physical domestic violence, forced marriage, domestic work exploitation, etc.), and may have limited access to protection and support services.