Marshall Islands Emigration and Immigration

Online Sources

 * 1883-1983, index, incomplete.
 * 1890-1960 Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960 at FindMyPast; index & images ($)

Finding the Town of Origin in Marshall Islands
If you are using emigration/immigration records to find the name of your ancestors' town in Marshall Islands, see Marshall Islands Finding Town of Origin for additional research strategies.

Marshall Islands Emigration and Immigration
"Emigration" means moving out of a country. "Immigration" means moving into a country. Emigration and immigration sources list the names of people leaving (emigrating) or arriving (immigrating) in the country. These sources may be passenger lists, permissions to emigrate, or records of passports issued. The information in these records may include the emigrants’ names, ages, occupations, destinations, and places of origin or birthplaces. Sometimes they also show family groups.

Immigration into Marshall Islands

 * Spain claimed the islands in 1592, and the European powers recognized its sovereignty over the islands in 1874. They had been part of the Spanish East Indies formally since 1528.
 * Later, Spain sold some of the islands to the German Empire in 1885, and they became part of German New Guinea that year, run by the trading companies doing business in the islands.
 * In World War I, the Empire of Japan occupied the Marshall Islands.
 * In 1920, the League of Nations combined them with other former German territories to form the South Seas Mandate.
 * During World War II, the United States took control of the islands in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign in 1944.
 * The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in May 1979 provided independence to the Marshall Islands.

Emigration From Marshall Islands
KNOMAD Statistics: Emigrants: 9,800. Top destination countries: the United States, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Australia, the Philippines, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands