Movement patterns of refugees under the Danish Integration Act
Summary
One of the main elements of the Act on Integration of Aliens in Denmark (Integration Act), introduced on 1 January 1999, is a new housing allocation policy. From that date onwards, the Danish Immigration Service has placed newly arrived refugees in the individual municipalities based on a quota system. Furthermore, refugees who are allocated housing are obliged to live in the allocation municipality for the entire integration period in order to maintain the right to receive an introduction allowance, unless moving to another municipality plays an important role in the integration process or there are special personal circumstances. Self-supporting refugees covered by the Integration Act may move as they choose. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effect the introduction of the Integration Act has had on the movement patterns of refugees. The study has been conducted based on AKF’s database, which takes administrative registers from Statistics Denmark as its point of departure.
The descriptions in the report show that prior to the introduction of the Integration Act, refugees were placed mainly in Copenhagen, Odense and Aarhus, as well as some larger towns in provincial municipalities. After the introduction of the Integration Act, the allocation of housing for refugees is more widely dispersed, and many smaller municipalities have received comparatively high numbers of refugees.
The report also concludes that the introduction of the Integration Act has had an effect on the movement patterns of refugees – at least in the short term. Refugees who immigrated to Denmark before 1999, and who are therefore not covered by the Integration Act, generally move early in the time period after immigrating. Thus, 17 per cent have moved to another municipality within the first 1.5 years after immigration, while 24 per cent have moved within three years. Among refugees covered by the Integration Act, only 6 per cent have moved from their housing allocation municipality within the first 1.5 years after immigration, while approx. 11 per cent have moved within the first three years. At the same time, there are indications that refugees covered by the Integration Act »build up« a desire to move, which is realised shortly after the end of the integration period. Thus, the number of refugees who move increases markedly at the end of the integration period. In all, 10 per cent have moved from their housing allocation municipality in the first year following the end of their integration period. Under the Integration Act, 21 per cent have moved away from their housing allocation municipality within their first four years in Denmark, while the figure for refugees who are not covered by the Integration Act is 30 per cent. With regard to the more long-term effects the Integration Act has on the movement patterns of refugees, it is still too early to draw any definitive conclusions.
Danish Institute of Governmental Research | Købmagergade 22 | 1150 København K | E-mail: