There is limited research on how the contextual characteristics of residential areas influence the patterns of refugees'
voluntary emigrations from the host country. Most existing empirical studies focus on return aspirations rather than
actual emigrations and are often based on small samples covering a short time period. This policy brief provides
unique, systematic evidence on actual emigration patterns for all cohorts of refugee families resettled in Norway
between 1990 and 2018, with a follow-up period of up to 33 years, and who were subject to a spatial dispersal policy.
Our findings reveal that the majority of resettled refugees remain in Norway indefinitely. However, families settled in
rural areas are significantly more likely to emigrate compared to those in central locations. Those who emigrate tend
to do so within a short time after arrival and, on average, they are less integrated into the labor market. Rather than
promoting stability for the refugees, the dispersal policy appears to contribute to both migrations and emigrations
from rural areas, which may reduce the effectiveness of local integration efforts and increase costs for the involved
municipalities.
