Long-term residency
22. Feb 2024
Relative decline in long-term residency
Long-term residency — a new term
Statistics Faroe Islands currently classifies the Faroese population into citizenship and country of birth. However, many have called for a term that gives a clearer statistical indication of long-term residency.
For example, someone born in another country but residing in the Faroes since childhood would not be identified as living and being active in the Faroes based solely on their country of birth. This limitation highlights the need for a more nuanced term. ‘Long-term residency’, defined here as residing and actively participating in the Faroese community for a certain period at some point in one’s life, aims to capture this aspect of long-term connection and integration.
A person is deemed as having long-term residency to the Faroes if he or she has either lived in the Faroes for half their life or for 7 out of 10 consecutive years at some point in their life. The ‘long-term residency’ concept is based on citizenship requirements used in other countries. Read more about this new term at the bottom of this article.
94% have long-term residency
Most residents of the Faroes maintain strong ties to the islands, with 94% qualifying for long-term residency as of January 1, 2024. This figure represents a gradual 4% decline from 98% a decade ago. Historically, the proportion of residents with long-term residency hovered between 96% and 98%.
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Mostly Danish citizens
The table below compares long-term residency by citizenship in January 2024 and January 2014.
Of those who currently have long-term residency, 98% are Danish citizens, compared to 99% in 2014. The percentage of non-Danish citizens with long-term residency has doubled since 2014.
One-third of those who currently do not have long-term residency are Danish citizens and two-thirds are non-Danish. In 2014, this ratio was inverted.
Twice as many non-Danish citizens have long-term residency
The graph below shows the long-term residency trend by citizenship.
The recent surge in non-Danish citizens with long-term residency is predominantly made up of citizens of the Philippines, Thailand and Romania. On 1 January 2024, Filipino citizens led the way in terms of the total number of non-Danish citizens with long-term residency to the Faroes, followed citizens of Iceland, Thailand, Romania, Norway and the UK.
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Rising number of non-Danish citizens without long-term residency
The interactive bar chart below shows how the distribution of citizen categories has changed for residents without long-term residency over the past 3 decades.
In 1995, those who did not have long-term residency were mainly Danish citizens. Subsequent decades have seen a rapid increase of non-Danish citizens without long-term residency. Today, there are almost as many Non-Nordic European and Asian citizens without long-term residency as Danish citizens with the same status.
About 70% of those without long-term residency are currently non-Danish citizens. Ten years ago, this figure stood at 42%.
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Residents without long-term residency lead inbound migration
Since 2019, most inbound residents have not had long-term residency. This figure is driven by increased immigration among those without long-term residency and fewer established residents returning from abroad.
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Larger share of emigrants without long-term residency
Three decades ago, some 90% of people emigrating from the Faroes had long-term residency to the islands. This figure has now come down to about 60%.
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About ‘long-term residency’
Statistics Faroe Islands currently classifies the Faroese population into citizenship and country of birth. However, many have called for a term that gives a clearer statistical indication of long-term residency.
A person may be born in another country but has lived in the Faroes ever after. Many of those who have lived in the Faroes all their lives were born in Denmark while their parents were students there.
Details about citizenship also have their limitations. It is, for instance, not possible to distinguish between citizens within the Danish Kingdom because people from the Faroes, Greenland and Denmark all have the same citizenship.
A person’s country of birth or citizenship thus does not give a sufficient indication of whether the person has lived and been active in the Faroes.
‘Long-term residency’, defined here as residing and actively participating in the Faroese community for a certain period at some point in one’s life, aims to capture this aspect of long-term connection and integration.
A person is deemed as having long-term residency to the Faroes if he or she has either lived in the Faroes for half their life or for 7 out of 10 consecutive years at some point in their life.
This term of years is based on requirements for citizenship in the Nordic countries.
Figures for long-term residency, determined by analysing address registrations across 10-year periods, are available back to 1995. This initial analysis considered individuals registered in the national register between 1985 and 1994.
Examples:
Below are some examples of how a person may be considered to have long-term residency to the Faroes.
Individuals with long-term residency can have lived in the Faroes either for a continuous period or for multiple shorter periods that cumulatively meet the eligibility criteria. If a person has lived in the Faroes for a total of 7 years during a 10-year period, or half of their life, the person is considered to have long-term residency.
Meeting the ‘7 out of 10 consecutive years’ requirement
A woman moves to the Faroes to work at the age of 25. Two years later, she decides to move abroad to study. Having completed her studies after three years, she wants to return to the Faroes. She moves to the Faroes and lives and works there for 8 years. Although her initial 2 years are not sufficient to meet the criteria for long-term residency, her two periods in the Faroes amount to 7 out of 10 consecutive years.
A couple in their twenties moves from the Faroes to Denmark to study. Having lived in the Faroes all their lives prior to leaving, they have long-term residency to the Faroes. During their time in Denmark, they have a child. When the child is 7 and is due to start school, the family moves to the Faroes. The couple still have long-term residency, but the child does not. Seven years later, when the child is 14, it has spent half its life in the Faroes and has also spent 7 out of 10 consecutive years in the Faroes and thus has long-term residency.
A man moved from Poland to the Faroes 9 years ago. His initial work contract was for 6 months, but he enjoyed his time in the Faroes so much that he extended his contract several times. He is now 36 years old and has lived in the Faroes for 9 years. He thus has long-term residency despite not being born in the Faroes.
- A doctor from Denmark moves to the Faroes to work. After working in the Faroes for 6 years, he moves from the Faroes. But 4 years later, he again gets a job in the Faroes. After 6 years, he resigns from his job and once again leaves the Faroes. Although he lived in the Faroes for 12 years over a 16-year period, he did not meet the eligibility criteria for long-term residency to the Faroes.
Half a lifetime in the Faroes
Children aged 10 or below are considered as having long-term residency if they have lived in the Faroes for half their lives. A boy is born in the Faroes and lives there with his parents until the age of 4 when his parents decide to move abroad for work. Three years later, the family returns to the Faroes to live. Although the boy is only 7 years old, he has lived half his life in the Faroes and thus has long-term residency to the Faroes.