Residence permits (migr

Residence permits (migr_res)

National Reference Metadata in ESS Standard for Quality Reports Structure (ESQRS)

Compiling agency: Immigration Office (Office des étrangers/ Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken).

Eurostat metadata

Reference metadata

1. Contact
2. Statistical presentation
3. Statistical processing
4. Quality management
5. Relevance
6. Accuracy and reliability
7. Timeliness and punctuality
8. Coherence and comparability
9. Accessibility and clarity
10. Cost and Burden
11. Confidentiality
12. Comment
Related Metadata
Annexes (including footnotes)

For any question on data and metadata, please contact: Eurostat user support

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1. Contact

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1.1. Contact organisation

Immigration Office (Office des étrangers/ Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken).

1.2. Contact organisation unit

Statistics Unit

1.5. Contact mail address

Boulevard Pacheco, 44

B-1000 Bruxelles

Belgium

2. Statistical presentation

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2.1. Data description

2.1.1. Introduction

This metadata information is provided by Belgium's authorities to ensure compliance with the requirements of Article 6 of Regulation 862/2007 on Community Statistics on Migration and International Protection.

As required by Article 9 of the Regulation 862/2007, Member States must report to Eurostat on the data sources used, the reasons for the selection of these sources and the effects of the selected data on the quality of the statistics. Member States shall provide it with all the information necessary to evaluate the quality, comparability and completeness of the statistical information.

The reference terms for the assessment of quality compliance are provided by Eurostat in the Residence permit statistics technical guidelines applied for the reference period (See section 3.4 Statistical concepts and definitions from the Residence permits statistics ESMS file).

Annex 1 presents the quality assessment for more recent data collections:

- Seasonal Workers data collection under Article 26 of Directive 2014/36/EU;
- Intra-Corporate Transfers data collection under Article 24 of Directive 2014/66/EU;
- Students, Researchers, Trainees, Volunteers, Pupils and Au Pairs data collection under Article 38 of Directive (EU) 2016/801.

2.1.2. General description of the statistical domain at national level

National system for compilation of residence permits statistics (level of development, main changes that affected the system in the last years and further development)

The two main data sources for producing RESPER data are the National Register ("Registre national" in French, a Central Population Register) and the database of the Immigration Office ("Evibel").

The main data extracted from the National Register to produce the statistics on residence permits are:

the set of variables related to ID document (Information Type n°195) was used to identify the type of residence permit, its length of validity and the reason to stay for specific categories (in particular employees of foreign representations, employees of EU institutions, employees of NATO/SHAPE, employees of other international organisations);
the set of variables related to the reason for stay (Information Type n°202) was used to identify the reason for stay;
the main sets of variables related to the asylum procedure (Information Types n°205 and n°206) were used to improve the quality of the data collection for the reasons to stay related to international protection;
the set of variables related to the "type of register" (Information Type n°210) was used to identify (and/or exclude) specific categories (in particular, asylum applicants and their children) and specific statuses (in particular, long-term residence status, employees of foreign representations, employees of EU institutions, employees of NATO/SHAPE, employees of other international organisations);
the sets of variables related to the place of residence (in particular Information Type n°001), the date of birth (Information Type n°101) and the date of death (Information Type n°150) were used to identify the periods of residence;
the general variables related to the characteristics of persons (citizenship, sex, place of birth...);
in the case of family reunification, some variables related to the joined person (citizenship, reason to stay, date of birth) were extracted to clarify the type of family reunification.

The main data extracted from the database of the Immigration Office to complete the data extracted from the National Register were applications for specific procedures (visas, unaccompanied minors, victims of trafficking in human beings, authorisation to stay for humanitarian status and medical reasons, blue cards...) and related decisions.

Statistics provided by regional administrations in charge of work permits are used to estimate the sub-category of reason for stay "highly skilled workers" (part of the table on permits issued for reasons related to remunerated activities). Actually, although the general reason to stay (remunerated activities) is correctly recorded within the National Register, the quality of the registration of the detailed reason for stay of workers (in particular, highly skilled workers) is currently considered as insufficient.

2.1.3. European and national legal framework relevant for Residence permits statistics

Include information on Applicable/Not applicable European legal acts at national level

Regulation 862/2007 on Community statistics on migration and international protection: Applicable

Directive 2003/109/EC concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents: Applicable

Directive 2009/50/EC on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of highly qualified employment: Applicable

Directive 2011/98/EU on a single application procedure for a single permit for third-country nationals to reside and work in the territory of a Member State and on a common set of rights for third-country workers legally residing in a Member State: Not yet transposed at the end of the reference year 2015 (transposition expected at the end of 2016).

2.1.4. Institutional infrastructure

List of the institutions involved in managing the registers related to Residence permits statistics and the institutions involved in the compilation of the Residence permits statistics

The Direction general Institutions and Population of the Federal Public Service Interior manages the National Register in collaboration with municipalities and the Immigration Office that records information in it.

The databases "Evibel" is the database of the Immigration Office.

Statistics on work permits are produced by the competent authorities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Flemish Region, Walloon Region and German-speaking Community.

2.1.5. General procedure for issuing first residence permits at National level

Residence permits are issued by municipalities in the framework of the general instructions related to electronic cards for foreigners and "residence documents" ("Instructions générales relatives aux cartes électroniques pour étrangers et aux documents de séjour"). Specific documents called special ID cards ("cartes d'identité spéciales") for employees of foreign representations, EU institutions, international organisations (and their family) are issued by the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs.

Issued residence permits (including the special ID cards) are recorded in the Information Type n°195 of the National Register.

Additional information : https://dofi.ibz.be/sites/dvzoe/FR/Pages/home.aspx or http://www.ibz.rrn.fgov.be/fr/documents-didentite/carte-electronique-pour-etrangers/presentation/.

2.1.6. General procedure for recording change of status or reason to stay of the permit (reason)

The change of reason to stay of persons is recorded by the municipality of the place of residence in the Information Type n°202 of the National Register.

2.1.7. General procedure for recording all valid residence permits at the end of the year

Include information on all permits valid in the end of the year and long term permits

Issued residence permits (including the special ID cards) are recorded in the Information Type n°195 of the National Register. The Information Type include the date of issuance and the date of end of validity of the permits. Valid permits at the end of the year are permits whose date of issuance is equal or before the end of the year and whose date of end of validity is after the end of the year.

In order to ensure a maximal quality of the results, consistency of this information with date of birth, date of death, date of registration in a municipality, date of removal of the municipal register, date of cancellation of the National Number (the national personal identification number) is checked.

2.1.8. General procedure for recording residence permits for Highly Skilled Workers and EU Blue Cards

Include information for first permit data collection and EU Blue Cards data collection

Residence permits issued to Highly Skilled Workers are recorded as other residence permits. Highly Skilled Workers can be identified on the basis of the specific modality of the reason to stay recorded in Information Type n°202 ("4.1.4 Travailleur non européen - Hautement qualifié").

EU Blue Cards are recorded as a specific type of residence permits in Information Type n°15 ("Carte H").

2.1.9. General procedure for recording single permits

The related Directive is not yet transposed.

2.1.10. Type of residence permits counted for Residence permits statistics (e.g. residence permits, long-term visas, authorisation to stay, work permit, education permit, etc) referirng to all applicable tables

All authorisations valid for at least 3 months allowing a third-country national to stay legally in the country and recorded in the Information Type n°195 of the National Register are included.

It includes all cards following this definition and known at national level as Cards A, CardsB, CardsC, CardsD, CardsF, CardsF+, Cards H, Special Identity Cards.

It includes a part of "Attestation d'immatriculation" (documents issued during the examination of specific requests, excluding asylum seekers and cards valid for less than 3 months) and specific documents issued to children (excluding asylum seekers and documents valid less than 3 months).

Some types of documents that are usually valid for less than 3 months ("annexes 15" and "annexes 35") may be included in very specific conditions (when the document is valid for at least 3 months).

Children having not reached the age of 12 registered in the National Register without holding a specific document (the issuance of the document is not mandatory to prove the authorisation to stay before this age) are counted from the date of registration in the population register or in the register of foreigners (if they are not recorded in the specific register related to asylum seekers and if their address is located in Belgium).

2.1.11. Main problems that affect the quality of the data and what tables are concerned including the compliance status with the definitions from Residence permits statistics Technical Guideline

Although the general reason to stay of workers (remunerated activities) is correctly recorded within the National Register, the quality of the registration of the detailed reason for stay of workers (in particular, highly skilled workers) is currently considered as insufficient. As a consequence, the number of workers is produced on the basis of the National Register and we consider the quality of these statistics as good, but the number of highly-skilled workers is estimated on the basis of statistics on work permits and data extracted from the National Register.

2.2. Classification system

Not available information.

2.3. Coverage - sector

Residence permits domain.

2.4. Statistical concepts and definitions

See European metadata file.

2.5. Statistical unit

Persons.

2.6. Statistical population

Persons receiving residence permits.

2.7. Reference area

Belgium territory.

2.8. Coverage - Time

2008 onwards

2.9. Base period

Not aplicable.

3. Statistical processing

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3.1. Source data

Tables	Presentation of the data source(s) / national registers
RP1. First permits issued for family reasons	National Register / Database of the Immigration Office
RP2. First permits issued for education reasons	National Register / Database of the Immigration Office
RP3. First permits issued for remunerated activities	National Register / Database of the Immigration Office / Statistics on work permits
RP4. First permits issued for other reasons	National Register / Database of the Immigration Office
RP5. Change of immigration status or reason to stay	National Register / Database of the Immigration Office
RP6. All valid permits on 31 December	National Register / Database of the Immigration Office
RP7. Long-term residents on 31 December	National Register / Database of the Immigration Office
BC1. EU Blue Cards issued	National Register / Database of the Immigration Office
BC2. Admitted family members of EU Bleu Cards holders	National Register / Database of the Immigration Office
BC3. EU Blue Cards holders and family members with previous residence in another EU Member State	Not available (no registration)
SP1. Single permits	Not applicable (directive not yet transposed)

3.2. Frequency of data collection

Tables	Frequency (Delete non-relevant attributes)
RP1. First permits issued for family reasons	Annual
RP2. First permits issued for education reasons	Annual
RP3. First permits issued for remunerated activities	Annual
RP4. First permits issued for other reasons	Annual
RP5. Change of immigration status or reason to stay	Annual
RP6. All valid permits on 31 December	Annual
RP7. Long-term residents on 31 December	Annual
BC1. EU Blue Cards issued	Annual
BC2. Admitted family members of EU Blue Cards holders	Annual
BC3. EU Blue Cards holders and family members with previous residence in another EU Member State	Not available
SP1. Single permits	Not applicable

3.3. Data collection

Systematic process of gathering data for official statistics at national level.

Each non-national residing legally in the country is recorded at the same time in the database of the Immigration Office and in the National Register. Both databases are continuously synchronised at individual level for specific variables (including variables related to residence permits and reasons for stay).

Municipalities record all issued/withdrawn residence permits and changes of reason for stay in the individual file of non-nationals in the National Register. The individual files of the non-nationals in the database of the Immigration Office are automatically updated.

Individual records are extracted on a monthly basis from the database of the Immigration Office and basic tabulations are automatically updated. These data are used to answer to ad hoc questions and to produce provisional results.

On a yearly basis, individual records are extracted from the database of the Immigration Office and all tabulations are produced. Because a non-negligible number of events occuring in November and December are actually recorded in January, this annual extraction is actually done in February of the year following the reference year.

On a yearly basis, statistics on first work permits issued to highly-skilled workers by each regional entity are collected in order to revise data extracted from the National Register for this specific category. Due to delays in production of these data on work permits, initial data on first work permits issued for reasons related to remunerated activities are not produced with the detailed reason to stay. They are revised the following year to include the detailed reason to stay.

3.4. Data validation

Description of the data validation system at national level
Before their transmission to Eurostat, the results are validated by the Statistics Unit and the Operational Unit responsible for the treatment of the cases on the basis of a short note written by the Statistics Unit presenting the results and focusing in particular on 1/ methodology, 2/ identified quality problems, 3/ observed evolutions, 4/ new phenomena, 5/ explanation of the divergence of the national and EU statistics, 6/ explanation of unexpected results and outliers, 6/ comparison with data provided by other countries.

Validation procedure	Applied
Checks of totals consistency	Yes
Checks of magnitude of changes over time	Yes
Using intervals of values for outliers/errors detection	No
Using visual validation (visual verification of the tables or the graph resulted)	Yes
Checking the data integrity over each processing step	Yes
Using special programs/software for data validation	No
Checking if the double counting cases are excluded	Yes
Checking the consistency between EU Blue Cards from first permits (RP3) and EU Blue Cards data collection (BC1-BC3)	Yes
Checking the consistency between flow and stock data (RP1-RP4 vs RP6)	Yes
Checking the consistency between statistics by "reason" and statistics by "age" and "sex" categories	Yes
Analyse the statistics reported by other countries	Yes

3.5. Data compilation

Estimations used: Details on the estimations done for Residence permits statistics (methodology applied and the concerned categories and tables)

Data on highly-skilled workers (sub-category of the table on permits granted for remunerated activities, RP3) are based on statistics related to 1st work permits by citizenship provided by regional authorities. The estimation has no impact on the total number of permits for remunerated activities (resulting from an extraction of data from the National Register), but it result in a transfer from the sub-category "other remunerated activities" to the sub-category "highly-skilled workers".

3.6. Adjustment

On the opposite of statistics published at national level, cards issued to EU citizens are excluded.

4. Quality management

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4.1. Quality assurance

See concepts 2 and 3 above.

4.2. Quality management - assessment

4.1. Description of the Quality management system at national level

Not available.

*4.2. General Quality assessment (Delete non-relevant attributes: Good quality / Sufficient quality / Poor quality)*
Topics	Output / Product Quality	Process Quality	Institutional Environment	Details in case of sufficient quality / Poor quality
First permits issued for family reasons	Good quality	Good quality	Good quality
First permits issued for education reasons	Good quality	Good quality	Good quality
First permits issued for remunerated activities	Sufficient quality	Sufficient quality	Sufficient quality	The registration of the specific sub-categories of remunerated activities "highly-skilled workers" within the residence permits' database is poor at local level. As a consequence, this specific category is estimated on the basis of statistics provided by regional authorities. Due to 1/ difference in the timing of the publications, 2/ different definitions, 3/ available cross-tabulations, the quality of the estimated results for this sub-group can only be considered as sufficient. The quality of the result for the category "remunerated activities" (total) is considered as good (it is not estimated and it is only based on the information from the National Register and the database of the Immigration Office).
First permits issued for other reasons	Good quality	Good quality	Good quality
Change of immigration status or reason to stay	Sufficient quality	Sufficient quality	Sufficient quality	Statistics on this topic are newly produced. Their quality is sufficient, but the Statistics Unit is still trying to improve it.
All valid permits on 31 December	Good quality	Good quality	Good quality
Long-term residents on 31 December	Good quality	Good quality	Good quality
Single Permits	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Directive is not yet transposed.
EU Blue Cards issued	Good quality	Good quality	Good quality
Admitted family members of EU Blue Cards holders	Good quality	Good quality	Good quality
EU Blue Cards holders and family members with previous residence in another EU Member State	Not available	Not available	Not available

Good quality (extensive quality) - covers all quality requirements, substantial quality checks are performed and a very good cooperation exists between institutions.

Sufficient quality (acceptable quality) - covers minimum requirements, but issues still exist and more information/validation is needed for a better quality assessment and acceptable cooperation issues exists.

Poor quality (inadequate quality) - the data do not meet the minimum requirements or there is not enough information for quality assessment and important cooperation issues exists.

5. Relevance

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5.1. Relevance - User Needs

5.1.1. General aspects

Include information on main users of Residence permits statistics at national level, European and International level.

The statistics collected under the Regulation 862/2007 are widely used in official publications and by a wide range of users at national, European and International level. The Residence permits statistics produced are regularly used by national administrations, academic researchers and civil society groups working on a wide range of topics including the integration of immigrants, the development and monitoring of national asylum and immigration procedures, and the projection of the future population and labour force.

At European level, the main users of Residence permits statistics are Eurostat and DG Migration and Home Affairs. These statistics are used in several publications of the Commission, as well as in the preparation of regular reports, policy proposals and analysis. The statistics also provide an input to the European Migration Network (EMN) studies and reports that address specific issues of current policy importance.

5.1.2. Residence permits statistics data publication at national level

Include information on residence permits statistics published at national level and differences between the data provided to Eurostat and the data published at national level (first permits, all valid permits at the end of the year, long term permits at the end of the year, single permits, single permits and EU Blue Cards)

At national level, we usually publish data on "cards for foreigners and residence documents", i.e. including documents issued to EU citizens.

For family reunification, we usually make the distinction between persons joining a national and persons joining another EU citizen (non-Belgian).

5.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction

If available/applicable, provide information on user satisfaction at national level.

Not available.

5.3. Completeness

Completeness of the data provided based on Article 6 of the Regulation 862/2007 (mandatory data provision), justification of the missing mandatory breakdowns and completeness of the data provided on voluntary basis.

Categories	Availability	Details related to "not applicable" and "not available" cases
RP1. First permits issued for family reasons
Citizenship	Available
Length of validity	Available
Reason	Available
Member	Available
RP2. First permits issued for education reasons
Citizenship	Available
Length of validity	Available
Reason	Available
RP3. First permits issued for remunerated activities
Citizenship	Available
Length of validity	Available
Reason	Available
RP4. First permits issued for other reasons
Citizenship	Available
Length of validity	Available
Reason	Available
RP5. Change of immigration status or reason to stay
Citizenship	Available
Reason	Available
RP6. All valid permits on 31 December
Citizenship	Available
Length of validity	Available
Reason	Available
RP7. Long-term residents on 31 December
Citizenship	Available
Reason	Available
SP1. Single permits
Reason	Not applicable	Directive is not yet transposed.
Decision type	Not applicable	Directive is not yet transposed.
Length of validity	Not applicable	Directive is not yet transposed.
BC1. EU Blue Cards issued
Citizenship	Available
Decision type	Available
ISCO08	Available
BC2. Admitted family members of EU Blue Cards holders
Citizenship	Available
Decision type	Available
BC3. EU Blue Cards holders and family members with previous residence in another EU Member State
Previous residence	Not available	Data cannot be extracted from the current database and the added value of the information is limited due to the limited number of cases.
Indicator type	Not available	Data cannot be extracted from the current database and the added value of the information is limited due to the limited number of cases.

5.3.1. Data completeness - rate

Not available.

6. Accuracy and reliability

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6.1. Accuracy - overall

6.1.1. Accuracy of the total provided for each dataset

Categories	The interval in which the real population could be comparing with the total provided 100% = high accuracy (total provided reflects the real measured population)	Details
RP1. First permits issued for family reasons	100%-102%	A limited number of permits issued for family reasons for specific categories (members of the family of employees of international organisations) are certainly recorded as "remunerated activities"
RP2. First permits issued for education reasons	100%-102%	A limited number of students (minors) are certainly recorded by mistake as family reunification.
RP3. First permits issued for remunerated activities	98%-100%	A limited number of permits issued for family reasons for specific categories (members of the family of employees of international organisation) are certainly recorded as "remunerated activities"
RP4. First permits issued for other reasons	80%-100%	Persons with an unknown reason to stay represent 30% of the category.
RP5. Change of immigration status or reason to stay	100%-105%
RP6. All valid permits on 31 December	98%-102%
RP7. Long-term residents on 31 December	98%-102
SP1. Single permits	Not applicable
BC1. EU Blue Cards issued	95%-105%
BC2. Admitted family members of EU Blue Cards holders	95%-105%
BC3. EU Blue Cards holders and family members with previous residence in another EU Member State	Not available

6.1.2. Accuracy of the total provided for each category

(Delete non-relevant attributes for Accuracy issue: No/Yes; Overestimation/Underestimation and Delete/Change/Adapt the text for impact percentage; see definitions from Eurostat Statistics Explained glosary: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Glossary:Coverage)

Categories	Accuracy issue	Description of the accuracy issue	Details about the impact on the statistics reported
RP1. First permits issued for family reasons
Citizenship	No
Length of validity	No
Member	No
Reason	No
RP2. First permits issued for education reasons
Citizenship	No
Length of validity	No
Reason	No
RP3. First permits issued for remunerated activities
Citizenship	No
Length of validity	No
Reason	Yes	The registration of the specific sub-categories of remunerated activities "highly-skilled workers" within the residence permits' database is poor at local level. As a consequence, this specific category is estimated on the basis of statistics provided by regional authorities. Due to difference in the timing of the publication and published data, the quality of the estimated results for this sub-group can only be considered as sufficient.	Difficult to estimate
RP4. First permits issued for other reasons
Citizenship	No
Length of validity	No
Reason	Yes	Persons with an unknown reason to stay represent 30% of the category RP4.	Overestimation with 10-20% is plausible but difficult to estimate precisely.
RP5. Change of immigration status or reason to stay
Citizenship	No
Reason	No
RP6. All valid permits on 31 December
Citizenship	No
Length of validity	No
Reason	Yes	Persons with an unknown reason to stay represent 23% of the sub-category "other reasons" and 5% of the total for RP6.
RP7. Long-term residents on 31 December
Citizenship	No
Reason	No
SP1. Single permits
Reason	Not applicable
Decision type	Not applicable
Length of validity	Not applicable
BC1. EU Blue Cards issued
Citizenship	No
Decision type	No
ISCO08	Yes	The sub-categories of ISCO08 seems to be difficult to identify for persons in charge of the declaration / registration and the accuracy of the results by sub-category is questionable.	Difficult to estimate
BC2. Admitted family members of EU Blue Cards holders
Citizenship	No
Decision type	No
BC3. EU Blue Cards holders and family members with previous residence in another EU Member State
Previous residence	Not available
Indicator type	Not available

6.2. Sampling error

Procedures and classifications used in case of missing information (e.g. unknown citizenship, age, etc.)

Not available.

6.2.1. Sampling error - indicators

Not applicable.

6.3. Non-sampling error

Not applicable.

6.3.1. Coverage error

Not applicable.

6.3.1.1. Over-coverage - rate

Over-coverage (Delete non-relevant attributes: 0%/1%/5%/10%/15%/20%/>20%)

Categories	The proportion of cases recorded that do not belong to the target population (%)
RP1. First permits issued for family reasons	1%
RP2. First permits issued for education reasons	1%
RP3. First permits issued for remunerated activities	5%
RP4. First permits issued for other reasons	1%
RP5. Change of immigration status or reason to stay	5%
RP6. All valid permits on 31 December	0%
RP7. Long-term residents on 31 December	0%
SP1. Single permits	Not applicable
BC1. EU Blue Cards issued	0%
BC2. Admitted family members of EU Blue Cards holders	0%
BC3. EU Blue Cards holders and family members with previous residence in another EU Member State	Not available

6.3.1.2. Common units - proportion

Not applicable.

6.3.2. Measurement error

Double counting (Delete non-relevant attributes: No / Yes; 0% / 1% / 5% / 10% / 15% / 20% / >20%)

Categories	One person can be included more than once in the reference datasets	Share of "double counting" cases in the total for the datasets	Description of the non-compliance issue
RP1. First permits issued for family reasons	No
RP2. First permits issued for education reasons	No
RP3. First permits issued for remunerated activities	No
RP4. First permits issued for other reasons	No
RP5. Change of immigration status or reason to stay	No
RP6. All valid permits on 31 December	No
RP7. Long-term residents on 31 December	No
SP1. Single permits	Not applicable
BC1. EU Blue Cards issued	No
BC2. Admitted family members of EU Blue Cards holders	No
BC3. EU Blue Cards holders and family members with previous residence in another EU Member State	Not available

6.3.3. Non response error

Not applicable.

6.3.3.1. Unit non-response - rate

Not applicable.

6.3.3.2. Item non-response - rate

Not applicable.

6.3.4. Processing error

Not applicable.

6.3.4.1. Imputation - rate

Not applicable.

6.3.5. Model assumption error

Not applicable.

6.4. Seasonal adjustment

Not applicable.

6.5. Data revision - policy

Data revision policy at national level

Follow Eurostat policy.

6.6. Data revision - practice

Details related to the data revision policy and expected revisions of the data send to Eurostat

Data are revised if different data are published/corrected at national level. No revision is currently expected.

6.6.1. Data revision - average size

Not available.

7. Timeliness and punctuality

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7.1. Timeliness

Not available.

7.1.1. Time lag - first result

Possible annual date when the available data has sufficient quality to be published (sent to Eurostat)

March of the year following the reference year.

7.1.2. Time lag - final result

Not applicable.

7.2. Punctuality

Problems with data provision to Eurostat in due time and the impact of these problems on the data quality provided to Eurostat

The administrative procedure resulting in the grant of residence permits changes frequently. It implies constant modifications of the statistical procedures used to extract and compile the tables. It may result in the impossibility of providing data in due time.

The estimation of the sub-category "highly-skilled workers" is based on statistics on work permits. An important part of the data necessary to produce the estimation is not available at the end of June, when data should be sent to Eurostat. As a consequence, the quality of the estimation is not as good as it could in June. A revised version for this specific sub-categoriy is provided when data are accessible.

7.2.1. Punctuality - delivery and publication

Not available.

8. Coherence and comparability

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8.1. Comparability - geographical

Provision of data using the Eurostat Residence permits statistics Technical Guidelines and exceptions applied

Fully Compliance. No exceptions involved.

Details on categories of Non-EU citizens difficult to be classified using the reference definitions from Residence permits statistics technical guidelines and the categories excluded from these reasons (excluded from the statistics reported)

The following categories are difficult to be classified using the reference definitions:

employees of international organisations and EU institutions : they are included in the category "other remunerated activities" except members of foreign military forces who are excluded from the results.
family members of employees of international organisations and EU institutions : they are included in the category "family reasons" and partially in the category "remunerated activities" (in specific cases, it is not possible to differenciate employees and the adult members of the household that are not employees of these organisations).
persons benefiting from a working holiday visa : they are included in the category "other remunerated activities"
job-seekers: they are included in the category "other remunerated activities"
persons having received a residence permit for medical reason: they are included in the category "humanitarian reasons"
retired persons: they are included in the category "residence only"
"persons who have sufficient private income" and similar categories: they are included in the category "residence only"
persons who are the subject of pending applications for international protection: they are excluded from these statistics (specific statistics are published among statistics on international protection.

Description of records related to "Unknown" country of citizenship category

This category includes persons whose citizenship is unknown (excluding recognised stateless persons who are recorded in the citizenship "stateless") as well as persons declaring to be citizens from a country that no longer exist (USSR, Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro...) or is not officially recognised. One should notice that, in the past, a large proportion of persons from Palestinian origin were recorded in the "unknown "category. Actions were undertaken at the end of 2016 to clarify the registration process of Palestinians that were previously alternatively registered in the categories of citizenship "Palestine" or "Unknown". These actions resulted in a large decrease of the registration of Palestinians in the "unknown" category. More recently, an increase of the registration of new-borns in this category "unknown" was observed due to uncertainty concerning citizenship at the date of birth. Actions are currentlly planned to reduce this new phenomenon.

Counting all family members in case of issued permit for the principal applicant only

Provide information if the residence permit can be issued for the principal applicant only and if all the family members are counted for residence permits statistics

Children before 12 years old are not obliged to get a residence permit. As a consequence, in their specific case, the first registration in the population register or foreigners' register is considered as the date of issuance of the first residence permit.

Description of records related to "Unknown" age and sex category

Persons whose sex or age is unknown.

Description of records related to "Other remunerated activities" sub-category of first permits from table related to "occupation reasons" (RP3)

List of categories of permits included in the "Other remunerated activities" subcategory

The "other remunerated activities" category includes the following sub-categories of reason to stay:

salaried workers
self-employed workers
persons benefiting from a working holiday visa
employees of international organisations and EU institutions (excluding members of foreign military forces)
job-seekers

Description of records related to "Other" subcategory of first permits from table related to "other reasons" (RP4)

List of categories of permits included in the "Other" subcategory

The"other" subcategory of from table related to "other reasons" RP4 includes mainly person who reason to stay is unknown or not registered.

Description of records related to "Other reasons" subcategory of table related to all valid permits in the end of the year (RP6)

List of categories of permits included in the "Other" subcategory

The"other" subcategory of from table related to "other reasons" RP6 includes the following sub-categories:

humanitarian reasons
unaccompanied minors
victims of trafficking in human
categories included in "residence only" in RP4
unknown reasons to stay

Procedure of establishing the reason for residence permits statistics and the treatment of the multiple reasons cases

The reason to stay is registered in the Information type n°202 of the National Register on the basis of the type of application and following the list of reason to stay established by the Immigration Office and the National Register (see http://www.ibz.rrn.fgov.be/fileadmin/user_upload/fr/rn/instructions/liste-TI/TT202_20180517_F.pdf / http://www.ibz.rrn.fgov.be/nl/rijksregister/reglementering/onderrichtingen/lijst-van-de-informatietypes for the exhaustive list of reason to stay and their definition (in French or Dutch)). Only one reason to stay can be registered at a given date.

Counting only once the first permits in one of the datasets related to for family or for education or for occupation or for other reasons (counting only once the persons in all tables RP1, RP2, RP3 and RP4 together)

Each person is counted only once in all tables RP1, RP2, RP3 and RP4 together. Only the first permit is counted (if the length of validity reach the minimal length of 3 months).

The definition of "First permit" applied (comparing with the one mentioned in Residence permits Technical guidelines)

The definition of "First permit" is applied as provided by Residence permits Techincal guidelines. NB: permits valid less than 3 months are excluded as well as documents issued to asylum seekers.

The definition of "EU Long-term status" applied (comparing with the one mentioned in Residence permits Technical guidelines)

The definition of "EU Long-term status" is applied as provided by Residence permits Technical guidelines. It results in the issuance of a "Card D" according to Belgian law.

The definition of "National Long-term status" applied

Please list the categories of long-term permits available at national level (under national legal framework).

Only one status is included "Etablissement/Vestiging" (Settlement). It is defined in the Chapter IV (articles 14-18bis) of law of 15 December 1980 on entry, stay, settlement and removal of foreign nationals.

Two type of permits are issued in this case: a "Card C" or a specific document for children.

Counting the permanent residence permits for the "all valid permits in the end of the year" and for "long-term permits valid in the end of the year" (table RP6 and RP7)

All permits valid at the end of the year and following the definition of a permit (valid at least three months, excluding asylum seekers...).

The definition of "EU Blue Card" applied for table RP3 (comparing with the one mentioned in Residence permits Technical guidelines)

Please indicate if "comparable definition" was applied.

The definition is the one mentioned in Residence permits Technical guidelines. It results in the grant of a "Card H" in Belgium.

The definition of "highly-skilled workers" applied (table RP3)

Please provide details on national programmes facilitating the admission of highly-skilled workers counted for the data sent to Eurostat for this category. Include also details on 'Highly skilled workers' category reported in another main table from first permits data collection than the table related to occupation reasons (“family reason”, “education reason” or “other reasons”)

Non-EU citizens receiving a salary exceding the amount indicated in article 67 of the la of 3rd of July 1978 related to contracts of employment related to high qualification and coming to Belgium to occupy a position requiring this high qualification.

Counting the renewed residence permit, referring to first permits and change of status or reason to stay tables (RP1-RP5 tables)

Renewed permits are not counted in RP1-RP4. RP5 is not provided.

The definition of "single permit" applied (comparing with the one mentioned in residence permits technical guidelines)

The one mentioned in residence permits technical guidelines.

Coverage of specific subcategories relate to the "reason" of issuing the residence permit see definitions from Eurostat Statistics Explained glosary: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Glossary:Coverage
Categories	Accuracy issue	Description of the accuracy issue	Details about the impact on the statistics reported
RP1. First permits issued for family reasons
Spouse/partner	No
Children (Minor/ Adult)	No
Other member	No
Joining an EU citizen	No
Joining an non-EU citizen	No
RP2. First permits issued for education reasons
Students	No
Other educational-related	No
RP3. First permits issued for remunerated activities
Highly skilled workers	Yes	Due to a poor registration of this category in the database, this category is estimated.	The Overestimation / Underestimation of the estimation is not possible to estimate.
EU Blue Card	No
Researchers	No
Seasonal workers	No
Other remunerated activities	Yes	Family members of employees of international organisation are partially recorded by mistake in this category.	Overestimation with 5% impact in the total is plausible (the impact on family reunification is negligible due to the comparative size of the phenomenon).
RP4. First permits issued for other reasons
Refugee status and subsidiary protection	No
Humanitarian reasons	No
Unaccompanied minors (non asylum related)	No
Victims of trafficking in human beings	No
Residence only	No
Residual categories	No
RP5. Change of immigration status or reason to stay
*- Previous permission was granted for reasons related to family formation and reunification*
Reasons related to education and study	Not available
Reasons related to remunerated activities	Not available
Other reasons	Not available
*- Previous permission was granted for reasons related to education and study*
Reasons related to family formation and reunification	Not available
Reasons related to remunerated activities	Not available
Other reasons	Not available
*- Previous permission was granted for reasons related to remunerated activities*
Reasons related to family formation and reunification	Not available
Reasons related to education and study	Not available
Other reasons	Not available
- Previous permission was granted for other reasons
Reasons related to family formation and reunification	Not available
Reasons related to education and study	Not available
Reasons related to remunerated activities	Not available
RP6. All valid permits on 31 December
Family formation and reunification	No
Education and study	No
Remunerated activities	No
Refugee status	No
Subsidiary protection	No
Other reasons	No
RP7. Long-term residents on 31 December
EU long-term resident status	No
National long-term resident status	No
SP1. Single permits
Family reasons	Not applicable
Education reasons	Not applicable
Occupation reasons	Not applicable
BC1. EU Blue Cards issued
Citizenship	No
Decision type	No
ISCO08	Yes	The sub-categories of ISCO08 seems to be difficult to identify for persons in charge of the declaration / registration and the accuracy of the result by sub-category is questionable.	Negligible (given the limited number of issued cards)
ISCO08	Yes	The sub-categories of ISCO08 seems to be difficult to identify for persons in charge of the declaration / registration and the accuracy of the result by sub-category is questionable.	Negligible (given the limited number of issued cards)
BC2. Admitted family members of EU Blue Cards holders
Citizenship	No
Decision type	No
BC3. EU Blue Cards holders and family members with previous residence in another EU Member State
Previous residence	Not available
Indicator type	Not available

Coverage of specific subcategories relate to EU Blue Cards data collection see definitions from Eurostat Statistics Explained glosary: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Glossary:Coverage
Categories	Accuracy issue	Description of the accuracy issue	Details about the impact on the statistics reported
BC1. EU Blue Cards issued
EU Blue Cards Granted	No
EU Blue Cards Renewed	No
EU Blue Cards Withdrawn	No
ISCO 08	Yes	The sub-categories of ISCO08 seems to be difficult to identify for persons in charge of the declaration / registration and the accuracy of the result by sub-category is questionable.	Impossible to estimate, but negligible (given the limited number of issued cards)
BC2. Admitted family members of EU Blue Cards holders
EU Blue Cards Granted	No
EU Blue Cards Renewed	No
EU Blue Cards Withdrawn	No
BC3. EU Blue Cards holders and family members with previous residence in another EU Member State
EU Blue Cards holders	Not available
Family members	Not available

Coverage of specific subcategories relate to the "length of validity" of the residence permit see definitions from Eurostat Statistics Explained glosary: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Glossary:Coverage
Categories	Accuracy issue	Description of the accuracy issue	Details about the impact on the statistics reported
RP1. First permits issued for family reasons
At least 3 months but less than 6 months	Yes	It is impossible to make the difference between a permit withdrawn before the end of validity and an expired permits.	The share of short-term permits is certainly slightly overestimated and the share of long-term permits is certainly slightly underestimated.
At least 6 months but less than 12 months	Yes	It is impossible to make the difference between a permit withdrawn before the end of validity and an expired permits.	The share of short-term permits is certainly slightly overestimated and the share of long-term permits is certainly slightly underestimated.
12 months and more	Yes	It is impossible to make the difference between a permit withdrawn before the end of validity and an expired permits.	The share of short-term permits is certainly slightly overestimated and the share of long-term permits is certainly slightly underestimated.
RP2. First permits issued for education reasons
At least 3 months but less than 6 months	Yes	It is impossible to make the difference between a permit withdrawn before the end of validity and an expired permits.	The share of short-term permits is certainly slightly overestimated and the share of long-term permits is certainly slightly underestimated.
At least 6 months but less than 12 months	Yes	It is impossible to make the difference between a permit withdrawn before the end of validity and an expired permits.	The share of short-term permits is certainly slightly overestimated and the share of long-term permits is certainly slightly underestimated.
12 months and more	Yes	It is impossible to make the difference between a permit withdrawn before the end of validity and an expired permits.	The share of short-term permits is certainly slightly overestimated and the share of long-term permits is certainly slightly underestimated.
RP3. First permits issued for remunerated activities
At least 3 months but less than 6 months	Yes	It is impossible to make the difference between a permit withdrawn before the end of validity and an expired permits.	The share of short-term permits is certainly slightly overestimated and the share of long-term permits is certainly slightly underestimated.
At least 6 months but less than 12 months	Yes	It is impossible to make the difference between a permit withdrawn before the end of validity and an expired permits.	The share of short-term permits is certainly slightly overestimated and the share of long-term permits is certainly slightly underestimated.
12 months and more	Yes	It is impossible to make the difference between a permit withdrawn before the end of validity and an expired permits.	The share of short-term permits is certainly slightly overestimated and the share of long-term permits is certainly slightly underestimated.
RP4. First permits issued for other reasons
At least 3 months but less than 6 months	Yes	It is impossible to make the difference between a permit withdrawn before the end of validity and an expired permits.	The share of short-term permits is certainly slightly overestimated and the share of long-term permits is certainly slightly underestimated.
At least 6 months but less than 12 months	Yes	It is impossible to make the difference between a permit withdrawn before the end of validity and an expired permits.	The share of short-term permits is certainly slightly overestimated and the share of long-term permits is certainly slightly underestimated.
12 months and more	Yes	It is impossible to make the difference between a permit withdrawn before the end of validity and an expired permits.	The share of short-term permits is certainly slightly overestimated and the share of long-term permits is certainly slightly underestimated.
RP6. All valid permits on 31 December
At least 3 months but less than 6 months	Yes	It is impossible to make the difference between a permit withdrawn before the end of validity and an expired permits.	The share of short-term permits is certainly slightly overestimated and the share of long-term permits is certainly slightly underestimated.
At least 6 months but less than 12 months	Yes	It is impossible to make the difference between a permit withdrawn before the end of validity and an expired permits.	The share of short-term permits is certainly slightly overestimated and the share of long-term permits is certainly slightly underestimated.
12 months and more	Yes	It is impossible to make the difference between a permit withdrawn before the end of validity and an expired permits.	The share of short-term permits is certainly slightly overestimated and the share of long-term permits is certainly slightly underestimated.
SP1. Single permits
At least 3 months but less than 6 months	Not applicable
At least 6 months but less than 12 months	Not applicable
12 months and more	Not applicable

8.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient

Not applicable

8.2. Comparability - over time

Methodological changes between the present reference year and previous year(s). Justification of the important changes in figures reported for the present reference year and previous year(s)
From 2015 (reference year), children who are less than 12 years-old at the date of issuance of the permits are counted at the date of registration in the register of population or in the register of foreigners. Before 2015, they were counted at the date of issuance of the first permits. This results from the facts that paper documents are no more issued for this category and this category of persons is not required to hold a specific document before the age of 12.

The distribution by reason is not available for 2008 and 2009 reference years.

8.2.1. Length of comparable time series

The indicators are generally comparable from 2010.

Exceptions are:

RP7 : comparable from 2014
Children : not strictly comparable between 2010-2014 and following years.

8.3. Coherence - cross domain

Links between the EU Blue Cards declared for first permits statistics (for occupation reasons - table RP3) and EU Blue Cards statistics (tables BC1, BC2 and BC3)

Fully Compliance. No exceptions involved.

Correspondence between the residence permits statistics by reason and residence permits statistics by age and sex

Fully Compliance. No exceptions involved.

Links between all valid permits on 31 December and Long-term residents

Long-term residents are a subset of all valid permits on 31 December. No exceptions involved.

Links between first permits and single permits

Not applicable.

8.3.1 Links between the Residence permits statistics and Asylum statistics and details related to the asylum applicant(s) case(s) included in Residence permits statistics in First residence permits

Please cover the differences between the Residence permits statistics and Asylum statistics reported to Eurostat

Persons who are subject of pending applications for international protection are not covered by Residence permits statistics (specific statistics are accessible for this group on Eurostat's website http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=migr_asypenctzm&lang=en).

Refugees and persons benefiting from subsidiary protection are covered from the date of issuance of the residence permits. It may not exactly be the date of the positive asylum decision.

A non-negligible part of refugees and persons benefiting from subsidiary protection had a residence permits for another reason before the positive asylum decision (students, humanitarian statuses...). As a consequence, the number of positive decisions does not correspond exactly to the number of first residence permits issued for these reasons.

8.3.2 Links between the Residence permits statistics and special short-term study on "trafficking in human beings" collected by Eurostat for statistics on crime and criminal justice.

Please cover the differences between the Residence permits statistics and the statistics reported for short-term study on "trafficking in human beings"

The first documents issued to victims of trafficking in human beings are often valid for less than three months. As a consequence, they are not covered by the Residence permits statistics. In addition, the definitions for the short-term study on "trafficking in human beings" were not precise enough.

8.4. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics

Not applicable.

8.5. Coherence - National Accounts

Not applicable.

8.6. Coherence - internal

Coherence between different categories/breakdowns required for each dataset (e.g. is each category well delimitated for the statistics reported or some of them are merged for technical reasons). Please refer to each category that has problem.

Not applicable.

9. Accessibility and clarity

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9.1. Dissemination format - News release

If applicable, regular or ad-hoc press releases linked to the data at national level.

Not applicable.

9.2. Dissemination format - Publications

List of residence permits publications at national level.

Annual publication on documents issued for family reunification (including documents issued to EU citizens).

Annual publication on documents issued for all topics.

9.3. Dissemination format - online database

Presentation of the National online national database for Residence permits statistics data accessible to the public and the accessibility procedure

No online database directly accessible to the public.

Possibility to access the data via an application to the Data Protection Authority.

9.3.1. Data tables - consultations

If available, number of consultations of data tables within residence permits statistical domain at national level, for a given time period displayed in a graph.

Not applicable

9.4. Dissemination format - microdata access

Not applicable.

9.5. Dissemination format - other

Not applicable.

9.6. Documentation on methodology

Documentation on Residence permits statistical methodology available at national level.

At the end of each publication.

9.7. Quality management - documentation

Presentation of the available data quality management - documentation at national level

No documentation publicly available.

9.7.1. Metadata completeness - rate

Not available.

9.7.2. Metadata - consultations

Not available.

10. Cost and Burden

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Not available.

11. Confidentiality

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11.1. Confidentiality - policy

Not applicable.

11.2. Confidentiality - data treatment

Not applicable.

12. Comment

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The following classification is used for data availability at Eurostat level:

The term "not applicable" related to the categories of permits which do not exist in national legislation/administrative procedures and therefore such statistics cannot be issued.
The term "not available" relates to categories of data that exist in the national legal/administrative system but cannot be delivered under Residence permits statistics data collection for various reasons (e.g. data cannot exist, data exist but are not collected, data are unreliable, etc.).

Related metadata

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migr_res_esqrs_be - Residence permits

Annexes

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Metadata on EU directives SW ICT and SR