“Forced Migration and Transnational Family Arrangements – Eritrean and Syrian Refugees in Germany (Transfar)” – the Aim, Scope and Design of a New Quantitative Survey

Elisabeth K. Kraus , Federal Institute for Population Research
Nikola Sander, Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB)
Lenore Sauer, Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB)
Susanne Schührer, Federal Office for Migration and Refugees

Forced migration and its impact on family dynamics is an important and timely topic with high policy relevance in Europe and beyond. Yet the topic has received little scientific attention, largely due to the lack of adequate data on refugee populations. The project “Forced Migration and Transnational Family Arrangements – Eritrean and Syrian Refugees in Germany” (TransFAR ) aims at filling this gap by designing and carrying out a new quantitative survey. The nationally representative sample is drawn from the Central Register of Foreigners in Germany. The survey covers two of the major countries of origin of refugees in Germany: Eritrea and Syria. These two countries are ideal for studying the migration dynamics between Germany and Sub-Saharan Africa as well as the Middle East. The key aim of the survey is to improve the availability of reliable and representative data on migrants from Eritrea and Syria residing in Germany. We hope that these data will stimulate research on the diverse patterns of family arrangements, family structures and transnational activities among refugees, as well as the social integration in a comparative cross-national perspective. The aim of this paper is to elaborate on the suitability of a sampling frame based on the Central Register of Foreigners, and to provide a glimpse at the survey based on pre-test data. We conclude by highlighting potentials for future research on transnational family arrangements and social networks of refugees.

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 Presented in Session P3. Poster Session Migration, Economics, Environment, Methods, History and Policy