Project: Ukrainian Refugees in Germany , Date: 2023.11.28, format: project (current), area: Authority , IAB-BiB/FReDA-BAMF-SOEP-Survey

Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression in 2022, many Ukrainians have left their country and sought protection in surrounding countries. Germany is among the most important host countries. Taking in so many people within a short period of time and creating paths for their integration poses challenges as well as opportunities for policy makers, government agencies, and society. Sound scientific data is needed to address these.

Already in March 2022, four research institutions started to launch the study "Ukrainian Refugees in Germany". The study is a comprehensive and representative longitudinal survey of Ukrainian refugees in Germany. The research institutions include the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), the Federal Institute for Population Research (BIB) with the German Family Demography Panel Study (FReDA), the Research Centre of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF-FZ), and the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin).

Objectives of the study

• To gain insight into the early integration processes and related needs of Ukrainian refugees
• To better understand the implications of flight for those seeking protection, especially women and separated families
• To document refugees' possible return or onward migration

Background and focus of the research project

In the wake of the Russian invasion, many Ukrainians are seeking protection in neighbouring countries and nearby EU member states – in part because of geographical proximity. Fleeing to EU member states is facilitated by visa-free entry and temporary residency with no asylum procedures. So far, mainly women, children, and older people from Ukraine arrived in Germany. Most of them fled shortly after the outbreak of the war. Many Ukrainian refugees have relatives or friends in Germany who they can turn to for help. For these specific reasons, findings on previously arrived refugees from other regions are only partly applicable to the present situation.

The study "Ukrainian Refugees in Germany" addresses this research gap by creating the first representative database on the conditions that led Ukrainian refugees to flee and on their process of integration into German society. Findings drawn from the data will lay the foundation for reliable policy research and political decision-making.

In detail, the study examines the following aspects:

• Circumstances of flight: timeline of flight and arrival in Germany, legal status
• Sociodemographic aspects: age, gender, regional origin, marital status
• Housing situation: place of residence and type of accommodation, moving
• Qualifications and employment: educational, vocational, and academic qualifications, financial situation, employment, German language skills
• Health: psychological well-being, satisfaction, worries
• Families and children: day care and schooling, family constellation before and after flight, well-being of children
• Social resources: social networks, needs for counselling and support
• Intentions for the future: intentions to stay or to return, family reunification, remigration

Methodology

The study is being conducted as a panel survey based on a random sample to provide robust, representative results on Ukrainian refugees in Germany. To generate the sample, 100 German municipalities with large numbers of Ukrainian refugees were identified using Germany's Central Register of Foreign Nationals. From these municipalities, refugees were randomly selected based on data from the population registers and contacted with an invitation to participate in the survey.

Interviews were conducted with 11,225 refugees of Ukrainian nationality aged between 18 and 70 years from August to October 2022 (paper questionnaire and online). A second wave with 6,754 people who had already participated in the first wave took place between January and March 2023. Infas - Institute for Applied Social Sciences conducted the fieldwork for both waves of the survey.

Publication of the results

Together, the four institutions presented first results of the study at a Federal Press Conference on December 15, 2022. The results were then published in the form of a BAMF Brief Analysis.

Detailed results from the first wave were published in February 2023 as part of a research report. The research report is only available in German, yet it includes an executive summary in English.

Results from the second survey were published on July 25, 2023, as part of a DIW weekly report.

BAMF Brief Anaylsis 3|2023 uses data from the first and second wave to examine how the living situation of Ukrainian refugees developed between late summer 2022 and spring 2023.

Outlook

The survey data will prospectively be made available to interested researchers in 2024 via the SOEP Research Data Centre (SOEP-FDZ), the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), and FReDA based at the Federal Institute for Population Research (BIB).

The current study ties in with the IAB-BAMF-SOEP-Survey of Refugees, which has been ongoing since 2016, and the Family Demographic Panel (FReDA). After the first two waves of the survey are completed, the participants of the study "Refugees from Ukraine in Germany" (IAB-BiB/FReDA-BAMF-SOEP-Survey) will be further interviewed within the framework of the IAB-BAMF-SOEP-Survey of Refugees or FReDA. This offers the possibility to gain long-term knowledge about refugees from Ukraine — both about their integration experiences in Germany and about their possible return or onward migration.