Migration and Living Arrangements of Couples: Moving Together or Multilocal Living?

Migration decisions are usually negotiated between members of a couple. It is important for both partners to clarify how the migration process should be organized as a couple: Should they migrate together? Or should the migration of one partner be associated with a temporary or even permanent spatial separation of the couple? Based on data from the German Emigration and Remigration Panel Study (GERPS), the present chapter analyses the prevalence and possible determinants of these different migration arrangements chosen by couples. The findings show that just under half of the couples migrated synchronously. Furthermore, around 60% of couples who initially lived separately after emigration moved together again within the first two years and finally 90% within the first four years after emigration, meaning that spatial separation was only a temporary phenomenon for the vast majority of German emigrants. Couples mainly migrated together if they were already married before migrating and lived together in the same household with children. The employment situation of the couple is also relevant when it comes to ending a spatial separation. Differences in resources and migration motives, on the other hand, play a subordinate role in the choice of suitable migration arrangements for couples. The analyses also found no significant correlations between the living conditions in the destination country and the chosen migration arrangement.