Weder effektiv noch familienfreundlich

Many countries curtail the welfare rights of immigrants either directly or indirectly. Policies which restrict ac- cess and policies which make the right to family reunification dependent on non-reliance on welfare benefits, however, have a small effect on migration inflows. Other factors are much more decisive: networks, wage differences between country of origin and destination country and unemployment rates in the destination country. The results raise the question whether the restrictions of immigrant welfare rights are not only threatening principles of equality but also are by and large ineffective.