Marriage-Related Migration to the UK

Abstract

Spouses form the largest single category of migrant settlement in the UK. Research and policy making on marriage-related migration to the UK has been dominated by a focus on South Asian populations, which are among the largest groups of such migrants. This article brings together the available evidence on marriage-related migration and settlement to provide a much broader perspective on this phenomenon. The varied and dynamic picture which emerges challenges conventional understandings of marriage-related migration to the UK. It also exposes the limitations and lacunae in existing research, highlighting the danger that policy made on the basis of partial evidence will produce unexpected consequences.

Drivers of Cousin Marriage among British Pakistanis

“…In Western Europe, spousal immigration is a common consequence of transnational marriage within minority groups originating outside Western Europe [29]. Typically, a European citizen of minority background marries in their country of origin and their spouse joins them as soon as entry clearance from immigration authorities is obtained [30].…”

Gendered Migrations and Global Social Reproduction

“…Much of the existing marriage migration literature focuses on transnational and intra-ethnic marriages of the main minority ethnic groups (Charsley et al 2012;Van Kerckem et al 2013). As in Asia, marriage with either a fellow co-ethnic with residence rights or with a citizen may be used strategically as a way of gaining legal status and the right to residence for the migrant, usually a woman, for example, in the case of Northern Chinese women in France (Lévy and Lieber 2013).…”

Transnationale Heiratsprozesse und genderspezifische Auswirkungen räumlicher Distanz, gesetzlicher Regelungen und neuer Kommunikationstechnologie: arrangierte Ehen zwischen Deutschland und der Türkei

“…Straßburger/Aybek 2014). Somit lässt sich festhalten, dass die gesetzlichen Rahmenbedingungen einen wichtigen Einfl ussfaktor darstellen, der sich auf die Machtverhältnisse zwischen den Parteien im Rahmen von transnational arrangierten Eheschließungen auswirkt (Charsley et al 2012;vgl. Fernandez/Jensen 2013;Strasser et al 2009 …”