Immigrants favour marrying Belgian residents

New figures show that fewer and fewer people of Moroccan and Turkish descent in Belgium are marrying people from their own country, reports Flanders News. Research by Ghent University shows that they are now more inclined to look for a partner in Belgium, though often it is a partner who shares their ethnicity. “Over the past ten years, that type of ‘immigration marriage’ has decreased by a third,” says Pieter-Paul Verhaeghe of Ghent University. “Today there is greater awareness of the problems that such a marriage can lead to. The figures show that the number of divorces is far higher among couples who marry a partner who was still living in their country of origin [than one already living in Belgium].”

Read the full article on the Flanders News website.