The MIMAP Survey , Date: 2024.12.20, format: documentation, area: Authority , Survey Instruments & Codebook

Source: BAMF

This survey documentation is a product of the MIMAP research project (Feasibility Study on the Im-/Mobility of Rejected Asylum Seekers), which included a mobile-based survey conducted in 2023 with a sample generated through respondent-driven sampling (RDS). The documentation includes a detailed presentation of the survey instruments used, along with the factorial survey experiment (vignette study), the filtering processes of the survey, and a codebook.

The MIMAP Research Project

The MIMAP research project, initiated by the Research Centre of the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) in 2022, aims to generate empirically grounded, application-orientated insights into the residence, return and onward migration aspirations of individuals obliged to leave Germany. It seeks to deepen the understanding of why some individuals choose to remain in the country despite poor legal prospects for regularization and participating, as well as opportunities for assisted voluntary return. MIMAP focuses on rejected asylum seekers, most of whom hold a temporary suspension of deportation ('Duldung'). The findings are intended to inform policies on return migration and residence consolidation.

Information on the MIMAP Survey

The cross-sectional survey targeted individuals from Anglophone West Africa whose asylum applications had been rejected and who were obliged to leave Germany. Data collection took place between June and December 2023, following an intensive qualitative preliminary study. The survey employed a respondent-driven sampling (RDS) strategy via a mobile app, enabling participants to share the survey with up to three others from the target group. Respondents received a €10 digital shopping voucher for their own survey participation and each successful referral. To further expand the number of participants, a random sample was drawn from the Central Register of Foreigners, with 1,500 postal invitations sent. The survey was available in English, French, and simplified German.

A central feature of the survey was a factorial design to examine factors influencing im-/mobility aspirations. Participants were presented with four hypothetical scenarios (vignettes) describing a fictional 25-year-old individual from their country of origin with a temporal suspension of deportation. Each scenario included experimentally varying characteristics. Respondents were asked to recommend whether these fictional individuals should remain in Germany, return to their country of origin, or move to a third country.