The Asylum and Migration Information Centre , format: Article, area: Authority

The Asylum and Migration Information Centre (IZAM) is the Federal Office’s central specialist information facility. The Information Centre compiles reliable, comprehensive and up-to-date information on migrants’ states of origin and transit, as well as on world refugee and migration movements and their causes. Literature and media reports are evaluated on the topics of integration, as well as on the law on asylum and residence, geography and human rights, in addition to sources for migration research.

The Information Centre is sub-divided into a library, documentation areas and the country analysis. A team of librarians, documentalists, lawyers, political scientists and other research assistants collects and processes the information.

The following range of activities is carried out with regard to the focal topics of asylum, migration, integration and returns:

• documentation of the press, expert reports and official information in the proceedings in accordance with the Asylum Act (Asylgesetz), and well as with case-law related to the law on asylum and residence
• analysis of the situation in the countries of origin and transit, as well as topical reports on current issues
• Information Agency for internal and external enquiries

The IZAM makes its databases /information collections available via the MILo (Migrations-InfoLogistik) information system both to the staff of the Federal Office and to external users. The database of the Information Centre for Voluntary Return (ZIRF), which contains information on voluntary return and assisted returns, is integrated into MILo. MILo has more than 2,000 registered external users, including colleagues from more than 20 European countries. Anyone who is interested can also research in MILo via the Internet with a guest login.