Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
Data collection on Dublin statistics contains statistical information based on the Article 4.4 of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 on Community statistics on migration and international protection.
Incoming ‘Dublin’ requests by submitting country (PARTNER), type of request, legal provision, sex and type of applicant (RI);
Outgoing ‘Dublin’ requests by receiving country (PARTNER), type of request, legal provision, sex and type of applicant (RO);
Incoming ‘Dublin’ requests based on EURODAC by submitting country (PARTNER), type of request, legal provision, sex and type of applicant (REDACI);
Outgoing ‘Dublin’ requests based on EURODAC by receiving country (PARTNER), type of request, legal provision, sex and type of applicant (REDACO);
Pending ‘Dublin’ incoming requests by submitting country (PARTNER), type of request, sex and type of applicant (RPENI);
Pending ‘Dublin’ outgoing requests by receiving country (PARTNER), type of request, sex and type of applicant (RPENO);
Incoming ‘Dublin’ requests for information by submitting country (PARTNER), legal provision, sex and type of applicant (RINFI);
Outgoing ‘Dublin’ requests for information by receiving country (PARTNER), legal provision, sex and type of applicant (RINFO);
Incoming responses to ‘Dublin’ requests for information by submitting country (PARTNER), legal provision, duration of response, sex and type of applicant (RESI);
Outgoing responses to ‘Dublin’ requests for information by receiving country (PARTNER), legal provision, duration of response, sex and type of applicant (RESO);
Unilateral ‘Dublin’ decisions by partner country, type of decision, sex and type of applicant (DUNI);
Decisions on incoming ‘Dublin’ requests by submitting country (PARTNER), type of decision, type of request, legal provision, sex and type of applicant (DI);
Decisions on outgoing ‘Dublin’ requests by receiving country (PARTNER), type of decision, type of request, legal provision, sex and type of applicant (DO);
Decisions on incoming ‘Dublin’ requests based on EURODAC by submitting country (PARTNER), type of decision, type of request, legal provision, sex and type of applicant (DEDACI);
Decisions on outgoing ‘Dublin’ requests based on EURODAC by receiving country (PARTNER), type of decision, type of request, legal provision, sex and type of applicant (DEDACO);
Incoming ‘Dublin’ transfers by submitting country (PARTNER), legal provision, duration of transfer, sex and type of applicant (TI);
Outgoing ‘Dublin’ transfers by receiving country (PARTNER), legal provision, duration of transfer, sex and type of applicant (TO);
Pending incoming ‘Dublin’ transfers by submitting country (PARTNER), sex and type of applicant (TPENI);
Pending outgoing ‘Dublin’ transfers by receiving country (PARTNER), sex and type of applicant (TPENO).
3.2. Classification system
See table 3.2. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2024’.
3.3. Coverage - sector
Migration and international protection – Dublin statistics.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
See table 3.4. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2024’.
3.5. Statistical unit
The text of Art.4 of the Regulation (EC) 862/2007 on Migration and international protection refers in general to statistics based on the number of persons and not on the number of applications. However, the article describing the 'Dublin' statistics (Art.4.4) refers to statistics based on the number of requests. Commission services recommend that Art.4.4 (more precisely 4.4.a, 4.4.c and 4.4.d) is interpreted as referring to the number of persons concerned by each request, decision and transfer.
3.6. Statistical population
See table 3.6. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2024’.
3.7. Reference area
Germany.
3.8. Coverage - Time
See table 3.8. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2024’.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
Number of Persons (number of persons for a requests, decisions, transfers, etc.).
2024 Calendar year.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
The compilation of Dublin statistics is based on Article 4.4 of Regulation (EC) 862/2007 of 11 July 2007 which depicts in details the data provisions Member States are bound to supply Eurostat with.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Not applicable.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
The individual details collected are kept secret according to § 16 Federal Statistics Act. Only in exceptionally expressly regulated cases may individual details be transmitted. The duty of secrecy also applies to persons who are the recipients of individual details.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
Not applicable.
8.1. Release calendar
No release calendar available.
8.2. Release calendar access
Not applicable.
8.3. Release policy - user access
Not applicable.
The Federal Office publishes data updated on a monthly basis concerning transfer requests that have been filed in the Dublin Procedure.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
As part of a monthly press release, the respective asylum business statistics (which includes the German Dublin statistics) of the previous month are published on the homepage of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
The results of the statistics are published in various publications. They are offered both in print and online in electronic form. The publications on asylum business statistics can be downloaded from the homepage of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.
10.3. Dissemination format - online database
The publication for the reporting year 2024 will be released soon. You can find further information and the latest version of the report on our website (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees).
10.3.1. Data tables - consultations
Only for internal use.
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
Not applicable.
10.5. Dissemination format - other
Not applicable.
10.5.1. Metadata - consultations
Not applicable/internal procedure.
10.6. Documentation on methodology
Data processing according to Technical Guidelines for The data collection under Article 4.4 of the Regulation (EC) 862/2007 about Dublin Statistics by Eurostat from January 2022 (See annexes).
10.6.1. Metadata completeness - rate
Not applicable.
10.7. Quality management - documentation
Not applicable/internal procedure.
11.1. Quality assurance
In the process of statistics creation, a variety of measures are taken to ensure the quality of the data. If necessary, quality assurance measures will be adapted and complemented by standardized methods of quality assessment and assurance. In order to ensure uniform and high-quality application and maintenance of the Dublin statistics, regular meetings with internal organizational units and coordination with the Federal Ministry of the Interior are held.
The sub-working group meeting "Methods and Quality" on the principles of quality assurance at the Federal Statistical Office also takes place regularly (at least once a year).
11.2. Quality management - assessment
Asylum and Dublin statistics in Germany are mainly based on administrative sources. Germany is following the requirements of the Regulation (EC) 862/2007 and the quality of the data may be assessed as very good.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
The statistics collected under Regulation (EC) 862/2007 are used by a wide range of usersʼ at national, European and International level to cover various usersʼ needs.
The asylum (and Dublin) business statistics provides important data on asylum-specific topics. It serves as a basis for decision making on socio-political, economic and political matters at national and international level. It shows correlations, allows conclusions to be drawn on various facts and serves as a control instrument for decisions already taken.
Users of Dublin statistics: In addition to the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag), currently the main users of the asylum business statistics are federal and state ministries, in particular the Federal Ministry of the Interior as well as other national and international institutions and organizations, research and education institutions, the media and the general public.
Unmet user needs (on statistics) and reasons why these needs cannot be satisfied (at national and international level): All user needs on Dublin statistics are covered by Germany.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
The interests of the users are taken into account in different ways. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees is in constant contact with users of asylum and Dublin statistics, in particular via the information service to other authorities, departments, institutes and the public.
12.3. Completeness
See table 12.3. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2024’.
12.3.1. Data completeness - rate
Not applicable.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
The overall accuracy of the German Dublin statistics can be assessed as high.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable.
13.2.1. Sampling error - indicators
Not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
There are no coverage, measurement or processing errors in the German Dublin Statistics.
13.3.1. Coverage error
No coverage error.
13.3.1.1. Over-coverage - rate
Not applicable.
13.3.1.2. Common units - proportion
Not applicable.
13.3.2. Measurement error
There are no measurement errors in the German Dublin Statistics.
13.3.3. Non response error
Not applicable.
13.3.3.1. Unit non-response - rate
Not applicable.
13.3.3.2. Item non-response - rate
Not applicable.
13.3.4. Processing error
There are no processing errors in the German Dublin statistics.
13.3.5. Model assumption error
Not applicable.
14.1. Timeliness
On average 90 days after the end of the reference period Germany is able to report the first and the final data.
14.1.1. Time lag - first result
Not applicable.
14.1.2. Time lag - final result
Not applicable.
14.2. Punctuality
See table 14.2. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2024’.
14.2.1. Punctuality - delivery and publication
The punctuality of delivery and publication of the German Dublin statistic is overall very good.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
In accordance with the guidelines, German Dublin statistics refer to persons.
15.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient
Not available.
15.2. Comparability - over time
See table 15.2. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2024’.
15.2.1. Length of comparable time series
The data of the German Dublin statistics is comparable until the year 2014.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
In accordance with the guidelines (Technical guidelines for the data collection under Art. 4.4 of regulation 862/20071 - 'Dublin Statistics Vers. 3.1, January 2022) German Dublin statistics refer to persons.
15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics
Monthly and quarterly figures are not summable. Coherence between sub annual and annual statistics is only given to a limited extent.
Monthly and quarterly values cannot be added to an annual value due to subsequent changes and subsequent entries.
15.3.2. Coherence - National Accounts
Not applicable.
15.4. Coherence - internal
The asylum business (and Dublin) statistics is internally coherent.
Regular statistical reporting and revising to EDAMIS estimated to 30 working days per year. This does not include time to implement changes in guidelines in regular reporting.
Metadata questionnaire estimated to 10 working days involving at least 3 workers.
17.1. Data revision - policy
Data is revised continuously during the year and made final at the end of the year.
17.2. Data revision - practice
See table 17.2. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2024’.
17.2.1. Data revision - average size
Not applicable.
18.1. Source data
See table 18.1. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2024’.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Monthly, quarterly and annually.
18.3. Data collection
The asylum statistics are secondary statistics and are based on the duty of cooperation of the asylum seeker - persons covered by Dublin regulations. It is a full survey.
By default, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees records administrative data on all asylum seekers in the asylum application.
The collected data of the original database Maris are transferred to the data warehouse overnight in the form of statistic-relevant data records. Each data record is clearly identifiable via the person number already assigned in advance. Automated report generation takes place at each change of month.
The data records integrated into the data warehouse are prepared through extraction and compaction by means of specific query parameters. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees carries out extensive plausibility checks for the data included in its Dublin statistics. In addition, the data is subjected to a double-fall test. The Dublin business statistics is a full survey at the current time. An extrapolation of the results is therefore not necessary.
18.4. Data validation
Description of the national workflow for checking and validating the source and output data and how the results of these validations are monitored and used: The statistics are carried out annually as a complete survey on the basis of an electronic file system. Consequently, sample-related errors are excluded. The input data is continuously validated during the process and subjected to a plausibility check. Errors due to incorrect and incorrect information in the input data can not be ruled out. As a result, the results of the Dublin business statistics are generally of high significance, quality and validity.
18.5. Data compilation
The national data is created according to the specifications of the EUROSTAT templates.
18.5.1. Imputation - rate
Not applicable.
18.6. Adjustment
The asylum business (and Dublin) statistics do not contain any subsequent data cleansing or the use of other analysis methods.
Data collection on Dublin statistics contains statistical information based on the Article 4.4 of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 on Community statistics on migration and international protection.
Incoming ‘Dublin’ requests by submitting country (PARTNER), type of request, legal provision, sex and type of applicant (RI);
Outgoing ‘Dublin’ requests by receiving country (PARTNER), type of request, legal provision, sex and type of applicant (RO);
Incoming ‘Dublin’ requests based on EURODAC by submitting country (PARTNER), type of request, legal provision, sex and type of applicant (REDACI);
Outgoing ‘Dublin’ requests based on EURODAC by receiving country (PARTNER), type of request, legal provision, sex and type of applicant (REDACO);
Pending ‘Dublin’ incoming requests by submitting country (PARTNER), type of request, sex and type of applicant (RPENI);
Pending ‘Dublin’ outgoing requests by receiving country (PARTNER), type of request, sex and type of applicant (RPENO);
Incoming ‘Dublin’ requests for information by submitting country (PARTNER), legal provision, sex and type of applicant (RINFI);
Outgoing ‘Dublin’ requests for information by receiving country (PARTNER), legal provision, sex and type of applicant (RINFO);
Incoming responses to ‘Dublin’ requests for information by submitting country (PARTNER), legal provision, duration of response, sex and type of applicant (RESI);
Outgoing responses to ‘Dublin’ requests for information by receiving country (PARTNER), legal provision, duration of response, sex and type of applicant (RESO);
Unilateral ‘Dublin’ decisions by partner country, type of decision, sex and type of applicant (DUNI);
Decisions on incoming ‘Dublin’ requests by submitting country (PARTNER), type of decision, type of request, legal provision, sex and type of applicant (DI);
Decisions on outgoing ‘Dublin’ requests by receiving country (PARTNER), type of decision, type of request, legal provision, sex and type of applicant (DO);
Decisions on incoming ‘Dublin’ requests based on EURODAC by submitting country (PARTNER), type of decision, type of request, legal provision, sex and type of applicant (DEDACI);
Decisions on outgoing ‘Dublin’ requests based on EURODAC by receiving country (PARTNER), type of decision, type of request, legal provision, sex and type of applicant (DEDACO);
Incoming ‘Dublin’ transfers by submitting country (PARTNER), legal provision, duration of transfer, sex and type of applicant (TI);
Outgoing ‘Dublin’ transfers by receiving country (PARTNER), legal provision, duration of transfer, sex and type of applicant (TO);
Pending incoming ‘Dublin’ transfers by submitting country (PARTNER), sex and type of applicant (TPENI);
Pending outgoing ‘Dublin’ transfers by receiving country (PARTNER), sex and type of applicant (TPENO).
31 March 2025
See table 3.4. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2024’.
The text of Art.4 of the Regulation (EC) 862/2007 on Migration and international protection refers in general to statistics based on the number of persons and not on the number of applications. However, the article describing the 'Dublin' statistics (Art.4.4) refers to statistics based on the number of requests. Commission services recommend that Art.4.4 (more precisely 4.4.a, 4.4.c and 4.4.d) is interpreted as referring to the number of persons concerned by each request, decision and transfer.
See table 3.6. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2024’.
Germany.
2024 Calendar year.
The overall accuracy of the German Dublin statistics can be assessed as high.
Number of Persons (number of persons for a requests, decisions, transfers, etc.).
The national data is created according to the specifications of the EUROSTAT templates.
See table 18.1. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2024’.
The Federal Office publishes data updated on a monthly basis concerning transfer requests that have been filed in the Dublin Procedure.
On average 90 days after the end of the reference period Germany is able to report the first and the final data.
In accordance with the guidelines, German Dublin statistics refer to persons.
See table 15.2. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2024’.
