Denmark: Asylum seeker and family reunification immigration dropping

I found the numbers hard to follow, so I looked it up on the Danish Immigration Service site.

Family reunification immigrants dropped from 13,187 in 2001 to 8,151 in 2002 when Denmark passed tougher immigration laws and down to 3,594 in 2006.
Several thousand foreigners are now coming to work and study in Denmark despite tougher immigration laws Denmark's efforts to attract a new, more educated and self-reliant type of immigrant seem to be paying off, reported national public broadcaster DR. Figures from the Danish Immigration Service indicate that there are more newcomers now entering Denmark than there were just five years ago, when the perceived problem was dealt with through tougher immigration laws. But the new wave is not made up of asylum seekers or those seeking family reunification. Instead, people are coming to Denmark to work or get an education. In 2006, 46,500 aliens were given temporary residency, nearly 30,000 of those coming to either work or study. In 2001 that number was a mere 13,000, making up only one-third of all residency permits issued. The numbers are surprising not only due to the nation's stricter immigration laws, but also considering the country has tightened its belts by no longer offering free studies, requiring foreign students to pay for their own educations here. The number of people seeking asylum or reunification with their families, in contrast, has been reduced. In 2001, those two groups accounted for 47 percent of all residency permits. By 2006, the number had fallen to only 11 percent. Some 1147 persons were given asylum in 2006, much the same figure as in 2005. Those seeking residency through family reunification totalled just over 3500 last year, also similar to the figures for 2005.
Source: Copenhagen Post (English), Danish Immigration Service (English)

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