This paper reviews recent research on family dynamics among immigrants and their descendants in Europe. While there is a large body of literature on various aspects of immigrant lives in Europe, research on family dynamics has emerged only in the last decade. Studies based on individual-level longitudinal data and disaggregated measures of partnership and fertility behaviour have significantly advanced our understanding of the factors shaping family patterns among immigrants and their descendants and have contributed to research on immigrant integration. By drawing on recent research, this paper proposes several ways of further developing research on ethnic minority families. We emphasise the need to study family changes among immigrants and their descendants over their life courses, investigate various modes of family behaviour and conduct more truly comparative research to deepen our understanding of how ethnic minorities structure their family lives in different institutional and policy settings.

This article analyses the factors leading single immigrants in Germany to marry a native partner, a co-national immigrant residing in Germany, or a co-national residing in the country of origin. Assimilation hypothesis and the importance of numerical constraints within the marriage market are generally confirmed for the case of mixed marriages. In contrast, the practice of importing spouses and its relation with integration reveals more complex. Differences between men and women in their propensity to import partners from origin, and how these propensities relate to education are particularly puzzling. While the practice of importing a partner is related to low educational levels for men, this does not seem to be the case for women. The Lievens' hypothesis, which suggests that immigrant women may use traditional forms of marriage to achieve modern goals such as living independently from their own and their in-law relatives after getting married, is not able to account for this result.

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