THESIM Towards Harmonised European Statistics on International Migration Press conference Project financed by the 6th Framework Research Programme of the European Union When? 30th March 2006 at 10:30 Where? Résidence Palace (lecture room, ground floor) rue de la Loi, 155 Brussels Who? - Michel Poulain (Unviersité catholique de Louvain) - Ann Singleton (University of Bristol) - Nicolas Perrin (Université catholique de Louvain)

THESIM Towards Harmonised European Statistics on International Migration Different national systems –Legislation –Sources –Concepts and definitions –Data collection systems –Production of statistics –Problems of comparability Project financed by the 6th Framework Research Programme of the European Union

THESIM Towards Harmonised European Statistics on International Migration Asylum statistics –Asylum applications Total numbers – most up-to-date, often provisional Cases or individuals? Dependents included or not? First and/or repeat applications included? Project financed by the 6th Framework Research Programme of the European Union

THESIM Towards Harmonised European Statistics on International Migration Asylum decisions –Decision process differs between countries –Data available later, often corrected later –First instance and subsequent decisions? –What is a negative, non-status or other decision? –No cohort data Project financed by the 6th Framework Research Programme of the European Union

THESIM Towards Harmonised European Statistics on International Migration Consequences for interpretation of the figures –Not possible to follow the progress of cohort throughout the process –Not possible to know how many people are awaiting a decision, what happens following a negative decision Project financed by the 6th Framework Research Programme of the European Union

THESIM Towards Harmonised European Statistics on International Migration Flow statistics – immigration and emigration –Hundreds of sources - often different for immigration, emigration, nationals, non- nationals –Censuses, surveys, border counts, registration systems –Emigration is always under-counted NB do not calculate net migration as the difference between immigration and emigration figures – because of the undercount and the different sources. Project financed by the 6th Framework Research Programme of the European Union

THESIM Towards Harmonised European Statistics on International Migration Immigration Common problems to check –Are nationals (citizens) included in the flows? –Does the data source (eg work permits, visas) include only one group of migrants? –Is the figure an estimate ? Project financed by the 6th Framework Research Programme of the European Union

THESIM Towards Harmonised European Statistics on International Migration What the figures don’t show Unrecorded migration –Some unrecorded immigration is legal –Some illegal immigration is recorded –Illegal immigration figures are always estimates –People move from one status to another Project financed by the 6th Framework Research Programme of the European Union