Immigration has become a major demographic and social force in Sweden, reshaping the composition, organization and everyday experiences of families. This manuscript examines the impact of immigration on family structures in Sweden through a narrative review of demographic statistics, Swedish migration policy, and sociological and migration research. The analysis focuses on family formation, family reunification, transnational households, partnership patterns, fertility and parenthood, intergenerational relations, gender roles, housing, children and second-generation families, and the interaction between family life and socioeconomic integration. Sweden provides an important case because immigration has occurred through multiple channels, including labour migration, refugee and humanitarian migration, student mobility, intra-European mobility and family-related migration. By the end of 2025, approximately 2.21 million residents of Sweden were foreign-born, representing just over one-fifth of the population, while 28 percent of the population had a foreign background when persons born abroad and persons born in Sweden with two foreign-born parents were combined (Statistics Sweden [SCB], 2026a; SCB, 2026b). These demographic changes have not simply increased the number of immigrant families; they have diversified household forms and produced new combinations of transnational, binational and intergenerational family relationships. The review shows that immigration can strengthen family networks through reunification and kin-based support, while migration processes can also generate prolonged separation, uncertainty and unequal access to family life. Children and young people may experience both opportunities associated with educational and social mobility and pressures related to language, identity, residential segregation and intergenerational expectations. Gender relations can be renegotiated through exposure to Swedish institutions, labour markets and gender-equality norms, although outcomes vary substantially by migration history, socioeconomic position and household circumstances. The manuscript concludes that immigration should not be understood as having one uniform effect on Swedish family structures. Instead, its effects are mediated by migration status, timing of migration, family resources, housing conditions, labour-market integration, welfare institutions, transnational ties and changing immigration regulations. A family-sensitive integration framework is therefore important for understanding demographic change and supporting social inclusion without treating immigrant families as a homogeneous category.
Keywords:immigration; family structure; Sweden; family reunification; transnational families; migrant families; intergenerational relations; gender; children; integration; housing; migration policy