Fertility differences by type of residence permit among female immigrants in Sweden

Immigrants’ life circumstances both before and after migration are likely to vary considerably by type of residence permit, which may affect fertility behavior. Yet, the relationship between permit type and fertility is surprisingly underexplored. This study uses Swedish population register data to explore (1) fertility differences by permit type among female immigrants to Sweden and (2) variation in fertility patterns within the family migrant category by characteristics of their male partner. The analysis compares how the mean number of children of different groups develops over time, both before and after immigration. The relationship between permit type and fertility is examined separately by geographical origin, to facilitate the disentanglement of permit type and origin effects on immigrant fertility. Results show that refugees tend to have the highest number of children, followed by family migrants, with labor migrants and especially student migrants having relatively few children. Family migrants show a clear increase in fertility tempo after migration, whereas this pattern is less pronounced and often somewhat delayed among labor and student migrants, and largely absent among refugees. Among family migrants, women who migrated together with or shortly after their male partner have the highest fertility, whereas family migrants with a Swedish-born partner have lower fertility than other family migrants. This study contributes new knowledge to the understanding of how permit type relates to fertility, by studying fertility differences between more permit categories than earlier studies, by considering time both before and after migration, and by exploring heterogeneity within the family migrant category.