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The internal mobility of refugees with protection status in Germany , , An explorative analysis based on the Central Register of Foreigners
Source: BAMF
The place of residence and the social, economic and demographic circumstances there have a major influence on the individual quality of life and social participation of all people. In comparison to other groups within the population who are able to freely choose where they live in Germany, refugees' choice of place of residence is a special case. Their choice of residence is regulated by law for up to three years after they have received a protection status.
So far, there are hardly any findings about the choice of place of residence and the internal mobility of refugees who are entitled to protection. The Research Centre of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) has reduced this research gap by, firstly, examining the extent to which such analyses on the basis of the Central Register of Foreigners (AZR) are fundamentally feasible and, secondly, by collecting initial findings about the internal migration of refugees.
As part of the study, relocations across district borders of adult refugees who first came to Germany in the years from 2015 to 2019 and received a temporary residence title for humanitarian reasons – were examined nationwide. The timeline of the analysis covered the period up to the end of 2020.
The most important results at a glance
The AZR contains comprehensive information on refugees' migration biographies, and this information makes it possible to analyse internal mobility.
The AZR proved to be a suitable longitudinal data source for evaluating refugees' internal mobility. Above all the large number of individuals recorded, and the information contained in the AZR regarding their migration biographies, as well as further individual characteristics, enable more detailed evaluations to be carried out.
Refugees with protection status are comparatively mobile, especially at the beginning of their stay in Germany.
The analyses indicated that the internal mobility of refugees with protection status differs to a certain extent from that of individuals who have German nationality. Internal migration is for instance relatively common, particularly at the beginning of a person's stay. This is however presumably less the result of a particularly strong individual willingness on the part of the refugees to relocate, and more a consequence of the legal regulations and of the fact that they are frequently put up temporarily in collective accommodation facilities at the beginning of their stay in Germany.
Internal mobility decreases with age, and thus corresponds to the mobility patterns of the German population.
As already known from research, the analyses reveal that mobility decreases with age, and single refugees with protection status relocate more frequently than do their married peers. Male refugees also tend to be more mobile than women, albeit this gender-specific difference becomes less marked with age. Particularly low mobility was found among married displaced women between the ages of 30 and 49.
Urban districts are highly attractive as a place to live for refugees, despite relatively high levels of unemployment.
It also becomes clear in terms of both, the geographical distribution and of migration, that refugees with protection status find urban districts more attractive as a place to live than rural regions. It was furthermore observed that refugees with protection status are more likely to live in or move to districts with relatively high levels of unemployment. These two conclusions do not contradict one another, but are in fact complementary, since (large) cities are primarily the districts where an above-average unemployment rate is prevalent.
The Central Register of Foreigners as a research dataset
Since August 2021, it has been possible for research facilities to access data from the AZR for research purposes via the BAMF's Research Data Centre (BAMF-FDZ). The data offering includes the "2021 AZR research dataset", a 20 percent random sample from the overall stock of data contained in the AZR. The dataset includes data on adult third-country nationals (non-EU citizens) whose residence in Germany is not, or was not, temporary. The "2021 AZR research dataset" is de facto anonymised, and can be accessed via guest research places. The data offered by the BAMF-FDZ also includes personal address data, inclusive necessary structural characteristics for conducting scientific surveys.
The Research Report was written by: Johannes Weber
The results of the research are published only in German.