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For any question on data and metadata, please contact: Eurostat user support |
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1.1. Contact organisation | Immigration Office (Office des étrangers/ Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken). |
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1.2. Contact organisation unit | Statistics Unit |
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1.5. Contact mail address | Boulevard Pacheco, 44 |
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2.1. Metadata last certified | 21/03/2024 | ||
2.2. Metadata last posted | 21/03/2024 | ||
2.3. Metadata last update | 21/03/2024 |
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3.1. Data description | |||
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.
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3.2. Classification system | |||
See table 3.2. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2023’. |
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3.3. Coverage - sector | |||
Migration and asylum – Dublin statistics. |
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3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions | |||
See table 3.4. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2023’. |
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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.
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3.6. Statistical population | |||
See table 3.6. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2023’. |
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3.7. Reference area | |||
Belgium. |
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3.8. Coverage - Time | |||
See table 3.8. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2023’.
Regulation (EC) 862/2007 applies to Dublin statistics collected since 2008. However, the statistical needs have evolved over time and additional disaggregation have been added over the years.
In 2008, the Dublin data collection included:
Transfers from the incoming dataset were not transmitted by Belgium in 2008-2011. The total number of transfers from the outgoing dataset could not be transmitted due to a Eurostat technical problem in 2008. From 2011, data transmitted to Eurostat are produced using a procedure established at the end of 2010 and slightly modified annually from this date. Data for the years of reference 2008 and 2009 were reproduced using these new methods. These European data differed from previously produced European data that were not in line with article 4.4 of the Regulation (EC) 862/2007. In particular, they refer to the number of persons concerned by the request, decision and transfer and not anymore to the number of requests, decisions and transfers. The procedure for identifying pending requests was modified for 2011 data to correct a mistake. As a consequence, 2011 and 2010 data on pending requests are not comparable for this indicator. The coverage of all statistics was slightly improved for data related to the year of reference 2012. Before 2012, data covered only requests and decisions made by the specific unit in charge of Dublin cases (in charge of the majority of cases). From 2012, data also include requests and decisions made by other units of the Belgian immigration unit.
In 2015, they were some changes (in application from the 2014 dataset):
In 2020, Regulation (EU) 2020/851 amended Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 on Community statistics on migration and international protection.
All information about the current Belgian Dublin data collection are to be found in this document. |
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3.9. Base period | |||
Not applicable. |
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For most of the statistics, each person is reported individually i.e. in case a request/decision covers several family members each family member is reported individually. Each submitted or received request/decision and transfer concerning the same person during the same reference year is reported. This implies that one person can be reported more than once during the reference year in the same dataset. For the categories 'Requests based on a Eurodac hit' and 'Decisions based on a Eurodac hit' all persons covered by these requests/decisions are reported, i.e. including children below 14 who are not fingerprinted. The statistics relating to requests for information relate to the total of file numbers. Therefore they underestimate the actual number of such requests. |
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Calendar year. The Dublin III data collection consists of annual tables, completed by Belgian data suppliers and sent to Eurostat within three months after the end of the reference year. The first reference year of this data collection is 2008. The first reference year after the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2020/851 amending Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 on Community statistics on migration and international protection is 2021. |
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6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements | |||
The Immigration Office is - according to art. 51/5 of the law of December 15, 1980 on access to the territory, stay, establishment and removal of foreigners - the competent administrative authority for the application of the Dublin III regulation (Regulation 604/2013) and is therefore designated as the producer of European statistics relating to the Dublin III regulation as foreseen in the article 4.4 of Regulation 862/2007. |
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6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing | |||
Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, formalized this by communicating the name of the Statistical Service of the Immigration Office as another producer of European statistics, in particular concerning statistics relating to the Dublin III regulation as foreseen in the article 4.4 of Regulation (EC) 862/2007. By this statute of producer of European statistical data, the statistical service of the Immigration Office must therefore be considered as one of the “other Belgian statistical authorities” as defined in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics. |
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7.1. Confidentiality - policy | |||
Information on the existence of a national policy for (not) releasing the Dublin data before a certain time after the end of reference period has passed: All statistical data are published within the regulatory deadlines. No national policy prevents us from publishing statistics before this deadline. Statistics are published when their quality is considered sufficient.
Required confidentiality by law and signed legal confidentiality commitments by survey staff: All the officials of the Immigration Office have signed a declaration aimed at protecting the confidentiality of data.
Potential micro-data access for research purposes by external users and confidentiality provisions applied: Access to micro-data is possible while respecting the general data protection regulation (regulation 2016/679). More information on the procedure implemented in this context can be requested from the Data Protection Officer of the Immigration Office. The contact details are available on the website of the Immigration Office: In French: In Dutch:
Procedures for ensuring confidentiality during collection, processing and dissemination, including rules for determining confidential cells: All information relating to the personal data collected and their processing is available on the website of the Immigration Office. In French: In Dutch: |
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7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment | |||
All information relating to the personal data collected and their processing is available on the website of the Immigration Office. In French: In Dutch: |
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8.1. Release calendar | |||
Within three months after the end of the reference year. |
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8.2. Release calendar access | |||
Information relating to the publication calendar is available on the website of the Immigration Office:
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/metadata/fr/migr_dub_esms.htm Statistics on this topic are updated to reflect data for the previous year within 3 months of the end of the reference year. |
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8.3. Release policy - user access | |||
Dublin statistics and related information are available on / via the website of the Immigration Office: |
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Dublin statistics are published once a year. In addition, some similar data are disseminated monthly at national level. |
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10.1. Dissemination format - News release | |||
Not applicable. |
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10.2. Dissemination format - Publications | |||
Annual and monthly publication on Dublin statistics are foreseen from 2021. Limited elements are also included in existing reports at the level of international protection and return. |
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10.3. Dissemination format - online database | |||
No Belgian online database directly accessible to the public. The statistics are available on the Eurostat website. Limited elements are available on the Website of the immigration Office: - https://dofi.ibz.be/fr/themes/chiffres/protection-internationale/statistiques-nationales - https://dofi.ibz.be/fr/themes/chiffres/rapports-annuels - https://dofi.ibz.be/fr/themes/chiffres/eloignement/eloignements-effectifs/statistiques-nationales |
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10.3.1. Data tables - consultations | |||
Not applicable. |
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10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access | |||
This must be agreed upon when signing the memorandum of understanding to access the microdata. |
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10.5. Dissemination format - other | |||
The metadate are complete and accessible online. |
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10.5.1. Metadata - consultations | |||
Not applicable. |
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10.6. Documentation on methodology | |||
This document gives some explanations on the methodology used to produce the Dublin statistics. There is also a methodology part at the end of each publication at national level, available on the Website of the immigration Office: https://dofi.ibz.be/fr/figures/international-protection/application-dublin-regulation/statistiques-nationales. |
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10.6.1. Metadata completeness - rate | |||
Not applicable. |
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10.7. Quality management - documentation | |||
The quality assessment is made in this document itself as well as at the end of the monthly reports that is published at national level and available on the Website of the immigration Office: https://dofi.ibz.be/fr/figures/international-protection/application-dublin-regulation/statistiques-nationales. |
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11.1. Quality assurance | |||
Not available. |
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11.2. Quality management - assessment | |||
Good quality for the majority of the datasets.
For the following datasets:
The quality is good. However, these tables have a 50% completeness rate because re-examination requests are not yet available. The new database, currently under development, should make it possible to provide this data.
Incoming 'Dublin' requests for information by submitting country (PARTNER), legal provision, sex and type of applicant : Sufficient quality These statistics are underestimated due to a technical limitation of the current application used to record the related data. In addition, the legal provision is not available for the same reason. Requests which do not fall under the general reason constitute a minority of cases. A new application, which should solve this problem, is in development.
Outgoing 'Dublin' requests for information by receiving country (PARTNER), legal provision, sex and type of applicant : Sufficient quality These statistics are underestimated due to a technical limitation of the current application used to record the related data. In addition, the legal provision is not available for the same reason. Requests which do not fall under the general reason constitute a minority of cases. A new application, which should solve this problem, is in development.
Incoming responses to 'Dublin' requests for information by submitting country (PARTNER), legal provision, duration of response, sex and type of applicant : Sufficient quality These statistics are underestimated due to a technical limitation of the current application used to record the related data. In addition, some variables (legal provision, duration of response) are not available for the same reason. Requests whose response is sent after five weeks constitute a minority of cases. A new application, which should solve this problem, is in development.
Outgoing responses to 'Dublin' requests for information by receiving country (PARTNER), legal provision, duration of response, sex and type of applicant : Sufficient quality These statistics are underestimated due to a technical limitation of the current application used to record the related data. In addition, some variables (legal provision, duration of response) are not available for the same reason. Requests whose response is received after five weeks constitute a minority of cases. A new application, which should solve this problem, is in development. |
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12.1. Relevance - User Needs | |||
The statistics collected under Regulation (EC) 862/2007 are used by a wide range of users at national, European and International level to cover various usersʼ needs.
Users of Dublin statistics :
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12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction | |||
Not available. |
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12.3. Completeness | |||
See table 12.3. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2023’. |
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12.3.1. Data completeness - rate | |||
Not applicable. |
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13.1. Accuracy - overall | |||
The accuracy of the Belgian Dublin statistics is high, except for : - the 4 datasets concerning the requests for information (incoming and outgoing 'Dublin' requests for information and incoming and outgoing responses to 'Dublin' requests for information), for which the accuracy is low ; - the 2 datasets concerning the pending 'Dublin' transfers (both incoming and outgoing), for which the accuracy is good.
The following tables have a 50% completeness rate: - RO (outgoing requests) - REDACO (outgoing requests based on Eurodac) - RPENO (outgoing requests) - DO (decisions on outgoing requests) - DEDACO (decisions on outgoing requests based on Eurodac). Re-examination requests are not yet available. The new database, currently under development, should make it possible to provide this data. |
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13.2. Sampling error | |||
Not applicable. |
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13.2.1. Sampling error - indicators | |||
Not applicable. |
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13.3. Non-sampling error | |||
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13.3.1. Coverage error | |||
Relocated persons might be reported (less than 5 persons per year). We are also unable to identify when a transfer should be carried out within the 18 months of acceptance of the request by another Member State to take charge or to take back the person concerned. |
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13.3.1.1. Over-coverage - rate | |||
Not applicable. |
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13.3.1.2. Common units - proportion | |||
Not applicable. |
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13.3.2. Measurement error | |||
Sample or systematic tests are carried out twice a month for unaccompanied minors and accompanied children. Statistics relating to decisions and agreements are also compared to transfer decisions, and decision deadlines are checked in order to add any missing decisions. |
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13.3.3. Non response error | |||
Not applicable. |
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13.3.3.1. Unit non-response - rate | |||
Not applicable. |
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13.3.3.2. Item non-response - rate | |||
Not applicable. |
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13.3.4. Processing error | |||
Sample or systematic tests are carried out twice a month for unaccompanied minors and accompanied children. Statistics relating to decisions and agreements are also compared to transfer decisions, and decision deadlines are checked in order to add any missing decisions. Annual Dublin data are consolidated once a year. They are drawn for the first time on a temporary basis, in order to isolate the problematic data and to correct them. When the corrections are made, these statistics are drawn definitively. However, when requesting statistics by third parties or for the pilot studies, statistics sent to Eurostat may be examined from an unusual angle or the statistics for the previous year can be compiled again. |
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13.3.5. Model assumption error | |||
Not applicable. |
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14.1. Timeliness | |||
- Number of days (on average) after the end of the reference period at which the country is able to report the first/preliminary data, at the earliest : 15 days. - Reasons for possible long production of the first/preliminary data and plans to improve the situation : Absence, including for the agents of the service responsible for encoding, technical problem with the Dublin application or other technical problems. - Number of days (on average) after the end of the reference period at which the country is able to report the final data, at the earliest : Approximately 75 days after the end of the reference period. - Reasons for possible long production of the final data and plans to improve the situation : Correction time is required to verify and consolidate the data. If a technical problem arises with the Dublin application during the last encoding, corrections or compilation of statistics, it will be impossible to provide the corrected and consolidated data on time. |
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14.1.1. Time lag - first result | |||
Not applicable. |
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14.1.2. Time lag - final result | |||
Not applicable. |
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14.2. Punctuality | |||
See table 14.2. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2023’. |
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14.2.1. Punctuality - delivery and publication | |||
Not applicable. |
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15.1. Comparability - geographical | |||
Regarding the working method, the statistics are comparable from 2012:
Statistics on pending transfers and on sovereignty and responsibility by default are only available from 2016. |
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15.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient | |||
Not applicable. |
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15.2. Comparability - over time | |||
See table 15.2. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2023’ and 3.8 - Coverage - Time. |
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15.2.1. Length of comparable time series | |||
Not applicable. |
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15.3. Coherence - cross domain | |||
Despite monthly verifications, slight coherence problems may arise with national statistics on returns. |
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15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics | |||
Monthly statistics sent to EUAA are slightly different from the annual statistic because we do not correct this data set after it is sent to EUAA. These are operational data. |
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15.3.2. Coherence - National Accounts | |||
Not applicable. |
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15.4. Coherence - internal | |||
Dublin statistics on requests to take back or charge, decisions and transfers are coming from the same application, with the same technical requirements, and are therefore coherent. |
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Not available |
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17.1. Data revision - policy | |||
Annual Dublin data are consolidated once a year. They are drawn for the first time on a temporary basis, in order to isolate the problematic data and to correct them. When the corrections are made, these statistics are drawn definitively. |
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17.2. Data revision - practice | |||
See table 17.2. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2023’. |
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17.2.1. Data revision - average size | |||
Not applicable. |
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18.1. Source data | |||
See table 18.1. in annex ‘Quality report tables Dublin 2023’. |
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18.2. Frequency of data collection | |||
Data is collected continuously and is consolidated monthly (operational data). Data for the whole year is again consolidated, checked and corrected before transmission to Eurostat. |
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18.3. Data collection | |||
Data regarding the 'Dublin' requests is registered in the Dublin App by the Dublin Unit and is then automatically linked with the database of the Immigration Office and the National Register. However, for some more recent data and disaggregations a manual check in the database of the Immigration Office is still needed. This concerns :
Data is collected continuously and is consolidated monthly (operational data). Data for the whole year is again consolidated, checked and corrected before transmission to Eurostat. |
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18.4. Data validation | |||
Data is consolidated monthly (operational data). Different checks are performed at the begin of each month, and the Dublin Unit or the IT services make the necessary corrections and adjunctions. Then, the data is consolidated and the statistics are sent to the services concerned, which can still provide their comments before the publication of the national statistics on the website of the Immigration Office. Data for the whole year is again consolidated, checked and corrected before final consolidation and transmission to Eurostat. |
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18.5. Data compilation | |||
For Dublin statistics on requests to take back or charge, decisions and transfers: data from the Dublin application, Evibel (the database of the Immigration Office) and the National Register is injected by ICT into a Data Warehouse from which the data is imported and examined in SAS. These data are then processed and any inconsistencies identified are sent to the competent service for correction. After correction, the data are processed, validated and the results are transmitted (monthly to EUAA, annually to Eurostat). |
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18.5.1. Imputation - rate | |||
Not applicable. |
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18.6. Adjustment | |||
Not applicable. |
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18.6.1. Seasonal adjustment | |||
No statistical technique applied. |
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Quality report tables Dublin 2023 Eurostat Guidelines on Dublin statistics - v. 3.1 - 2022 |