Settlement or Return

First of all, the percentage of all immigrants from the Americas who have been residents for more than 10 years in Europe has doubled in the relatively short period from 2008-2009 to 2012-2013. In the period 2008-2009 it stood at 30% and increased to 59% in the following four years, practically the same level as for emigrants from the rest of the world, for whom it also increased during this period, but from an already high level of 55%. It should be noted that this increase occurred precisely in the period in which the economic conditions of many European countries were deteriorating, especially in Spain, where a large part of the emigrants reside. Said increase, furthermore, is not simply due to the decrease in immigration flows as a result of the economic crisis, which would have automatically increased the percentage of long-term residents. The absolute number of immigrants residing for more than 10 years has also almost doubled over the same period, increasing by 93% from its 2008-2009 level. The growth has been remarkable for immigrants from the Andean Region, where an increase of more than 230% was registered, due in large part to the large increases observed for Bolivia and Ecuador (more than 600%). Indeed, of the countries in Table 6 only Haiti and Suriname show growth rates of less than 25% from 2008-2009 to 2012-2013. The growth has been remarkable for immigrants from the Andean Region, where an increase of more than 230% was registered, due in large part to the large increases observed for Bolivia and Ecuador (more than 600%). Indeed, of the countries in Table 6 only Haiti and Suriname show growth rates of less than 25% from 2008-2009 to 2012-2013. The growth has been remarkable for immigrants from the Andean Region, where an increase of more than 230% was registered, due in large part to the large increases observed for Bolivia and Ecuador (more than 600%). Indeed, of the countries in Table 6 only Haiti and Suriname show growth rates of less than 25% from 2008-2009 to 2012-2013.

The large increases in recent years in the number of immigrants from the Americas residing in Europe reflect the likely definitive settling of large contingents of immigrants from the Americas who arrived at the beginning of the 21st century and later.

At the same time that these contingents of immigrants are establishing themselves, they have also begun to acquire the nationality of their adoptive countries of residence. 64% of immigrants from the Americas with more than 10 years of residence on average in Europe between 2010-2013 have the nationality of their countries of residence, a slightly higher percentage than for immigrants from the rest of the world. For those immigrants with 5 to 10 years of residence, the percentage is much lower, corresponding to 17%. This clearly reflects the impact of residency requirements for acquisition of nationality and also the time lag between arrival and the decision to naturalise, which may not be made if there are expectations of return.

For some countries of origin, citizenship acquisition rates for long-term residents are exceptionally high, such as Chile (83%), Uruguay (85%), Venezuela (93%), and Suriname (100%, rounded). In the case of immigrants from the Andean Region, for whom settlement in European countries is more recent, naturalization rates are closer to 50% and in the case of Ecuador, only 37%. All of them are likely to increase in the next decade as more immigrants settle and the logic of naturalizing becomes more appealing.

In the United States, the percentage of all immigrants from the Americas who have been residents for more than 10 years has also increased from 2008-2009 to 2012-2013, but less sharply, from an already high level of 70% to 78% for the last two years (Table 6b). The above figure evidently reflects the fact that large-scale immigration from the Americas is an older phenomenon in the United States than in the European Union, which has experienced massive movements to Spain in the last fifteen years. However, the percentage increased significantly, in contrast to what was observed for immigrants from the rest of the world, where the prevalence of long-term immigrants remained stable in the period at 73%.

The largest increase in the percentage of long-term residents in the United States was recorded for immigrants from the Southern Cone, especially Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina, with an increase of about 20 percentage points or more. The proportion was stable in Canada and the Caribbean and increased by 10 percentage points for Central America and 12 for the Andean Region. All the regions of origin show a percentage of immigrants with more than 10 years of residence of between 75% and 80%.

As in the case of the European Union, the number of long-term immigrants also increased, although not to the same degree, with 22% registered in the United States in the same period, compared to 93% in Europe. All countries of origin (with the sole exception of Dominica) have seen an increase in settlement levels, with more modest increases than those seen in European OECD countries.

A more direct measure of settlement, or rather return, appears in Table 7 in the case of emigration to Spain in the period 2002-2013. The estimate that appears is actually exit rates and is calculated for each country by dividing the total number of immigrants who left Spain in the period 2002-2013 by the sum of the resident immigrant population at the beginning of the period plus entries over the same period. This gives the percentage of immigrants present in the country at any point in the period who eventually left. It is not a true departure rate, in the sense that it does not measure the number of people who arrived in a certain year and left after a specified period, but it does provide a reasonable approximation.It should be noted that a departure here does not necessarily imply a return to the country of origin, but may involve migration to another country or even death.

Table 7. Estimates of departure rates in Spain of immigrants from the Americas, 2012-2013