Table 1
Summary of categories and combinations of family migration included in this study.
| INCLUDED | EXCLUDED | NOTES | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sub-categories of family migration | Family reunification Family formation | Accompanying family members | The testing includes both family reunification and family formation cases but does not make a distinction between them. |
| Resident sponsors | EU citizens (incl. nationals) Third-country nationals | The testing includes and distinguishes between resident sponsors who are EU citizens (i.e. nationals of the destination country or mobile EU citizens) and non-EU citizens (i.e. third-country nationals that have a residence permit in the destination country). | |
| Incoming family members | Third-country nationals (non-EU citizens) | EU citizens | The testing only includes incoming family members that are third-country nationals (i.e. from outside the EU). |
Table 2
Fixed-effects regression models of family migration rates in 29–31 European countries, 2008–2019.
| FAMILY MIGRATION (ALL) | FAMILY MIGRATION (ALL) | FAMILY MIGRATION (ALL) | SPONSOR EU CITIZEN | SPONSOR NON-EU CITIZEN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MODEL 1 | MODEL 2 | MODEL 3 | MODEL 4 | MODEL 5 | |
| Admission policies t – 1 | –0.0173** (0.00688) | –0.0198** (0.00936) | –0.0192** (0.00889) | –0.00257 (0.00354) | –0.0149** (0.00678) |
| Residence-permit policies t – 1 | 0.00417 (0.00608) | 0.00388 (0.00641) | –0.00312 (0.00290) | 0.00494 (0.00489) | |
| Social-assistance rates t – 1 | 0.00006* (0.00003) | –0.00002 (0.00002) | 0.00006 (0.00004) | ||
| Stocks of foreign-born t – 1 | 5.674* (3.324) | 1.989** (0.933) | 6.235** (2.677) | ||
| Immigrant inflow (excl. family) | 0.0399** (0.0185) | –0.0070** (0.0034) | 0.0401** (0.0174) | ||
| Unemployment rate t – 1 | –0.0245 (0.0334) | –0.0189 (0.0152) | –0.00628 (0.0358) | ||
| Vote share of anti-immigration parties | –0.00257 (0.00355) | –0.00095 (0.00184) | –0.00005 (0.00384) | ||
| GDP per capita (log) t – 1 | –0.469 (0.599) | –0.108 (0.307) | –0.0167 (0.543) | ||
| Constant | 1.968*** | 1.833*** | 5.315 | 2.004 | –0.121 |
| (0.254) | (0.252) | (6.028) | (3.109) | (5.446) | |
| Mean of dependent variable | 1.61 | 1.61 | 1.61 | 0.56 | 1.05 |
| Observations | 320 | 320 | 288 | 283 | 283 |
| R-squared | 0.252 | 0.253 | 0.346 | 0.213 | 0.324 |
| Number of countries | 31 | 31 | 29 | 29 | 29 |
[i] Notes: Fixed-effects regression models with clustered standard errors. Immigration rates and stocks of foreign-born concern third-country nationals (TCNs) and are measured per 1000 population. The policy variables are measured from 0–100, where higher values symbolise a higher degree of restrictiveness and lower values a lower one. The reason for not lagging Vote share of anti-immigration parties was to avoid the risk of incorrectly associating changes in family migration with a former political environment and previous election results. ***p < 0.01; **p < 0.05; *p < 0.1.
Table A1
Summary statistics, 2008-2019.
| VARIABLE | MEAN | STD. DEV. | MIN | MAX | N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dependent variables | |||||
| Family migration (all) | 1.61 | 1.19 | 0.27 | 6.58 | 361 |
| Sponsor EU citizen | 0.56 | 0.53 | 0.003 | 3.52 | 354 |
| Sponsor non-EU citizen | 1.05 | 0.97 | 0.001 | 5.65 | 349 |
| Independent variables | |||||
| Policy variables | |||||
| Admission policies | 41.92 | 20. 14 | 0 | 100 | 355 |
| Residence-permit policies | 54.58 | 20.0 | 12.5 | 87.5 | 355 |
| Eligibility criteria | 60.95 | 29.38 | 0 | 100 | 355 |
| Qualifying conditions | 29.22 | 21.14 | 0 | 100 | 355 |
| Other independent variables | |||||
| Stocks of foreign-born | 0.12 | 0.08 | 0.01 | 0.47 | 351 |
| Immigrant inflow (excl. family) | 4.23 | 5.00 | 0.27 | 38.07 | 361 |
| Vote share of anti-immigration parties | 11.79 | 14.85 | 0 | 69.4 | 372 |
| Social-assistance rates (log) | 10710.6 | 5881.5 | 1701.2 | 31013.4 | 341 |
| Unemployment rate | 8.56 | 4.62 | 2.06 | 27.7 | 372 |
| GDP per capita (log) | 10.09 | 0.68 | 8.49 | 11.53 | 372 |
[i] Notes: Immigration rates and stocks of foreign-born persons concern third-country nationals (TCNs) and are measured per 1000 population. Policy variables are measured from 0–100, where higher values symbolize a higher degree of restrictiveness and lower values a lower one. Countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Table A2
Fixed-effects regression models of family-migration rates in 29 European countries, 2008-2019.
| FAMILY MIGRATION (ALL) COUNTRY GROUP 1 | FAMILY MIGRATION (ALL) COUNTRY GROUP 2 | FAMILY MIGRATION (ALL) | FAMILY MIGRATION (ALL) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MODEL 6 | MODEL 7 | MODEL 8 | MODEL 9 | |
| Admission policies t-1 | –0.0173** (0.00603) | 0.0100 (0.0164) | ||
| Eligibility criteria t-1 | –0.0143** (0.00583) | |||
| Qualifying conditions t-1 | –0.00614 (0.00537) | |||
| Residence-permit policies t-1 | 0.00599 (0.00751) | 0.00494 (0.00775) | 0.00181 (0.00724) | –0.00363 (0.00503) |
| Social-assistance rates t-1 | –3.65e–05 (6.30e–05) | 0.00017*** (4.03e–05) | 6.01e–05 (3.55e–05) | 6.75e–05** (3.28e–05) |
| Stocks of foreign-born t-1 | 9.707*** (2.411) | 5.819 (4.801) | 5.406 (3.233) | 5.451 (3.611) |
| Immigrant inflow (excl. family) | 0.147*** (0.0485) | 0.0255 (0.0223) | 0.0440** (0.0190) | 0.0413** (0.0181) |
| Unemployment rate t-1 | –0.0229 (0.0523) | –0.0481 (0.0453) | –0.0291 (0.0320) | –0.0240 (0.0346) |
| Vote share of anti-immigration parties | 0.00341 (0.00565) | –0.00616 (0.00614) | –0.00653 (0.00446) | –0.00167 (0.00399) |
| GDP per capita (log) t-1 | –0.413 (0.702) | –1.138 (1.366) | –0.736 (0.578) | –0.480 (0.592) |
| Constant | 5.478 | 9.756 | 8.312 | 5.235 |
| (7.084) | (13.36) | (5.888) | (5.995) | |
| Mean of dependent variable | 2.023 | 1.297 | 1.61 | 1.61 |
| Observations | 141 | 147 | 288 | 288 |
| R-squared | 0.555 | 0.381 | 0.349 | 0.331 |
| Number of countries | 14 | 15 | 29 | 29 |
[i] Notes: Immigration rates and stocks of foreign-born concern third-country nationals (TCNs) and are measured per 1000 population. The policy variables are measured from 0–100, where higher values symbolize a higher degree of restrictiveness and lower values a lower one. Country group 1 (Northern and Western European countries): Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Country group 2 (Central/Eastern and Southern European countries): Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. ***p < 0.01; **p < 0.05; *p < 0.1.
Table A3
Robustness checks of family-migration rates in 29 European countries, 2008–2019.
| FAMILY MIGRATION (ALL) | SPONSOR EU CITIZEN | SPONSOR NON-EU CITIZEN | FAMILY MIGRATION (ALL) | IMMIGRANT INFLOW (EXCL. FAMILY) | ADMISSION POLICIES | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MODEL 10 | MODEL 11 | MODEL 12 | MODEL 13 | MODEL 14 | MODEL 15 | |
| Family migration (all) t-1 | 0.886*** (0.0469) | –0.951 (1.131) | ||||
| Sponsor EU citizen t-1 | 0.771*** (0.0539) | |||||
| Sponsor non-EU citizen t-1 | 0.890*** (0.0377) | |||||
| Admission policies t-1 | –0.0035*** (0.0009) | –0.0004 (0.0009) | –0.0033*** (0.0010) | –0.0608 (0.0382) | ||
| Admission policies t-2 | –0.01343* (0.00693) | |||||
| Residence-permit status t-1 | –0.0026* (0.00143) | –0.00061 (0.00072) | –0.00224* (0.00118) | –0.00029 (0.00437) | 0.0131 (0.0432) | |
| Social-assistance rates t-1 | 1.20e–05* (6.97e–06) | 6.04e–06 (4.83e–06) | 7.93e–06 (6.91e–06) | 0.00007** (0.00003) | –0.00015 (0.00035) | –0.00079 (0.00076) |
| Stocks of foreign-born t-1 | 1.037*** (0.373) | 0.913** (0.419) | 0.598** (0.264) | 4.96598 (4.56738) | 34.56 (43.91) | 58.94 (56.02) |
| Immigrant inflow (excl. family) | 0.0175*** (0.00674) | 0.00305 (0.00322) | 0.0135*** (0.00416) | 0.06169** (0.02646) | ||
| Unemployment rate t-1 | –0.00494 (0.00658) | 0.00194 (0.00437) | –0.00801 (0.00605) | –0.04239 (0.03885) | –0.0148 (0.139) | –0.326 (0.205) |
| GDP per capita (log) t-1 | –0.0376 (0.0805) | –0.0346 (0.0446) | –0.0238 (0.0762) | –1.02624* (0.59272) | 12.99* (6.925) | –11.42* (6.446) |
| Vote share of anti-immigration parties | –0.00163 (0.00125) | –0.00064 (0.00077) | –0.00092 (0.00118) | –0.00086 (0.00297) | ||
| Vote share of anti-immigration parties t-1 | 0.0701(0.066) | |||||
| Constant | 0.410 | 0.226 | 0.331 | 11.07794* | –127.8* | 155.9** |
| (0.786) | (0.431) | (0.748) | (6.06356) | (72.31) | (67.20) | |
| Fixed effects | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mean of dependent variable | 1.61 | 0.56 | 1.05 | 1.61 | 4.23 | 41.92 |
| Observations | 287 | 281 | 278 | 265 | 288 | 290 |
| R–squared | 0.574 | 0.272 | 0.485 | 0.3696 | 0.340 | 0.173 |
| Number of countries | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 |
[i] Notes: Immigration rates and stocks of foreign-born persons concern third-country nationals (TCNs) and are measured per 1000 population. Policy variables are measured from 0–100, where higher values symbolize a higher degree of restrictiveness and lower values a lower one. ***p < 0.01; **p < 0.05; *p < 0.1.