The IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees , Date: 2024.02.15, format: project (current), area: Authority

The IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees is a study in which participants are interviewed annually. The target participants are persons who entered Germany between January 2013 and September 2022 and who applied for asylum. Since 2023, Ukrainian nationals who have come to Germany as a result of the Russian war of aggression are also being interviewed as part of this study. Additional to the target participants, also all other household members are interviewed.

The study is carried out by the Research Centre of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF-FZ) in cooperation with the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) and the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) at DIW Berlin.

The IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees aims to obtain reliable information about the life situation of people who have sought protection in Germany since 2013. For this purpose, among other things, information on schooling, on vocational education and training as well as on the refugees' current work situation is collected. Language skills, housing and family situation, social participation, as well as the nature and extent of social contacts are further central topics of the study. Furthermore, the study focuses on the impact of the legal and institutional conditions on the respondents' situation and the effectiveness of various support programmes. As part of the longitudinal study, people who applied for asylum or temporary protection in Germany between 2013 and September 2022 are interviewed annually, regardless of whether their application was successful. In addition, the respective household members are interviewed as well. The aim is to survey the same persons each year. For 2016, information on 4,465 adults is available, for 2017 on 5,703, for 2018 on 4,471, for 2019 on 3,993 and on 3,319 adults in 2020.

Since the eighth survey wave in 2023, Ukrainian refugees who have come to Germany since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine as well as their household members are also being interviewed. For this purpose, a part of the respondents from the study "Refugees from Ukraine in Germany" (IAB-BiB/FReDA-BAMF-SOEP-Survey) were transferred to the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees and complemented by a further sample of Ukrainian refugees. The surveys are carried out by specially trained interviewers of the survey institute infas (Institut für angewandte Sozialwissenschaft/Institute of Applied Social Science).

Random sample from the Central Register of Foreigners

The participants were selected from the Central Register of Foreigners (AZR) using a random sampling procedure. Participation in the study is voluntary. The data protection regulations are fully complied with in the survey. The survey serves research purposes only. This also means that the information that is provided in the interviews does not have any effect on the asylum procedure, also not retroactively.

Connection with other studies and linkage with information from public statistics

The study is closely connected to the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). More than 20.000 people of the German resident population take part in this longitudinal study, which has been ongoing since 1984. Since 2013, the IAB-SOEP Migration Samples have also been a part of SOEP. The integration of the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees into the data inventory of the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) makes comparisons between refugees and other migrant groups in Germany as well as with people without a migration background possible.

Finally, provided that the respondents give their permission, the survey data is linked to the IAB's Integrated Employment Biographies (IEB) as well as to the data of the BAMF's Integration Business File (InGe). Linking the survey to the IEB enables to exactly retrace the employment biographies of refugees living in Germany. The link to the InGe data further allows for detailed studies on the participation in integration courses and on the potential effects of their attendance.

Additional surveys during the coronavirus pandemic 2020-2022

From July to August 2020, a short Covid-19 complementary telephone survey was conducted as part of the IAB-BAMF-SOEP survey of refugees. One person per household member was interviewed.

As part of the RKI-SOEP-2 study, respondents of the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees, the IAB-SOEP Migration Sample and the SOEP-Core were asked between November 2021 and February 2022 to take a small blood sample (five drops of blood from a fingertip – so-called self-administrated dry blood test) and to complete a short questionnaire. The blood samples provided were tested in a laboratory of the Robert-Koch Institute for the presence of antibodies against the Corona virus (SARS-CoV-2). See the joint press release (only in German) for more information on the RKI-SOEP-2 study.

Results from the study

The BAMF Research Centre has compiled publications on various topics on the basis of the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees. These are available under "Downloads". Among them are the following recent publications:

Research Report 43 from 2023 investigates the incidence COVID-19 and vaccinations against SARS-CoV-2 among persons with and without migration experience based on data from the RKI-SOEP-2 study.

The Brief Analysis 1|2024 examines the development of refugees' German language skills in comparison between men and women. The focus here is on the reasons for the weaker German language skills of female refugees. In the Brief Analysis 02|2022, the focus is on developments in refugees' German language skills as well as worries and life satisfaction, placing a particular emphasis on the developments during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Brief Analysis 01|2022 addresses the residential histories of refugees since entering Germany. The Brief Analysis 06|2021 examines the needs for assistance and the degree to which they are met, as well as the familiarity with and use of consulting services. Additionally, it investigates which groups of individuals are particularly at risk of not receiving the necessary assistance. The Brief Analysis 05|2021 focuses on the group of older refugees, analysing in particular the circumstances of their arrival in Germany, as well as their situation today.

Outlook and data access for researchers

The data from the surveys from 2016 to 2021 are available to external researchers for their own analyses and can be obtained via the SOEP Research Data Centre and the IAB Research Data Centre.

The seventh survey wave ran from August 2022 to February 2023. This data is currently being prepared for research and will be made available to external researchers from 2024 onwards.

We would very much like to thank the survey participants for their cooperation and for supporting our studies!