ABSTRACT
As Filiz Demiröz notes, policies regulate the access of economic migrants and their family members to Germany, and affect many areas of their lives (Kofman 2004). One area concerns family reunion, with entry and residence permits for so-called ‘imported’ brides and husbands (Beck-Gernsheim 2011; Kreckel 2013). What is especially diffi cult and causes much strain on newly married couples is that after migrating, the spouse does not obtain a work permit for one year. This can make it very diffi cult to get used to a new place and instead can lead to social isolation, economic dependency, language learning diffi culties and problems in
partnership. We might assume that this may have been an aspect of why the daughter’s husband did not want to stay in Germany and why the marriage failed.
