Statistics from the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) have revealed how many people were either granted a family immigration permit or registered with authorities as having moved to Norway to be with family in 2021.

Family immigration permits are issued based on the relative of the applicant being a Nordic citizen, or having legal residence or asylum in Norway. The applicants are normally the partner or spouse, child or parent, sibling, or in some cases another relative of someone living in Norway.

Residence permits for family reasons are generally issued to those from countries outside the European Economic Area or EEA (EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway), while those moving to Norway to be with family are required to register with the police as living in Norway.

Last year 24,507 EEA nationals registered with the police, and of those, 4,582 said they made the move for family reasons.

Polish nationals made up over a quarter of all EEA nationals who registered with the police as moving to Norway for family reasons. 1,719 Poles registered with the authorities as moving to reunite with family last year. Lithuanians were the second largest group to register with the police as moving for family, followed by German, Romanian, and Latvian citizens.

Citizens from Spain, Greece, France, Bulgaria and Italy made up the rest of the ten largest groups to tell authorities that they moved to Norway to reunite with family.

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Last year, the UDI issued 10,197 family immigration permits to non-EEA nationals. Eritrean nationals were the group to be granted the most family immigration permits. Of the 987 residence permits for family immigration issued to Eritreans, 146 were given to those reuniting with a Nordic citizen, 514 were issued on the basis of the family member in Norway having permanent residence, and 306 were handed out to those whose family members have been granted asylum. The other 21 permits were handed out for different reasons

Indian nationals were the next largest group to be granted family immigration permits. Most residence cards given to Indians for family reasons were issued to nationals whose relatives and partners had work permits, followed by family members with permanent residence or the relation in Norway being a Nordic citizen.

841 Syrians were granted family immigration permits. Over half were issued to those reuniting with a family member or partner who have been granted asylum. Many family immigration permits were also handed to Syrian nationals who had a family member with permanent residence in Norway.

UK nationals and American citizens were the next largest groups to receive family immigration permits. Brits were handed 841 family immigration permits. Of those, 119 were issued to Brits who had a relative with permanent residence, 72 were for UK nationals with a Nordic relative, 117 were for Brits whose family or partner had a work permit and nine were granted a residence because they had a relative who had themselves been given a family immigration permit. The remaining 343 permits were issued for other reasons.

Of the 541 family immigration permits issued to Americans, 220 were given to those with a relative or partner from the Nordics, 18 were issued to those with a family member with permanent residence. In addition, 249 permits were issued to Americans who had relatives with a work permit, with the rest being granted to those who had a relative with an education visa, family permit, or for other reasons.

Citizens from The Philippines, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Thailand and Iran were the next largest groups to receive family immigration patients.