AbstractThe degree to which the foreign culture influences the local culture differs across countries. We show how the willingness of locals and immigrants to intermarry influences the culture and the national identity of the host country. Using a search‐theoretic approach we show that, even in situations where migrants and natives prefer to marry within their own community, the search process may lead to intermarriage: either migrants or natives each hold on to their own culture or the immigrants take on the natives' culture. In some situations new cultures develop and the local culture will not survive over time.