www.immigrantsurvey.org The Immigrant Citizens Survey asks immigrants to assess their aspirations and needs for integration and then evaluate how effective policies are in meeting them. The survey results cover 15 EU cities in Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.

1. IMMIGRANT
SURVEY
CITIZENS
How immigrants experience integration in
15 European cities
Project co-financed under the
European Fund for the Integration
of third-country nationals

2. PARTNERS
Managing Partners
King Baudouin Foundation (KBF)
Migration Policy Group (MPG)
Co-funders:
European Commission
King Baudouin Foundation
Fundação Calouste
Gulbenkian Oak Foundation Project co-financed under the European
Fund for the Integration of third-country
nationals
Belgium
King Baudouin Foundation (KBF)
Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
France
Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques (Science Po)
France Terre d’Asile
Germany
Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and
Migration (SVR, Germany)
Hungary
MTAKI (MTA Etnikai-nemzeti Kisebbségkutató Intézet)
Menedék Hungarian Association for Migrants
Italy
Fondazione Ismu – Initiatives and Studies on Multiethnicity
Portugal
High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural
Dialogue (ACIDI)
Spain
Branding and Design:
University of Leicester
Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas
Fundacion CIDOB

3. ABOUT
Goals
1. Increase knowledge of immigrants’ needs, experiences,
and aspirations – and policy impacts
2. Help policy actors make recommendations for
Immigrants are an untapped more effective policies and practices
resource to improve policy
3. Show value of surveying immigrants
ICS is 1st transnational survey Cities and countries
that is directly relevant for • Belgium (Antwerp, Brussels, Liège)
policy-makers in many areas of • France (Lyon and Paris)
• Germany (Berlin and Stuttgart)
integration at local, national, • Hungary (Budapest)
and European level • Italy (Milan and Naples)
• Portugal (Faro, Lisbon, and Setubal)
• Spain (Barcelona and Madrid)
Policy areas
• Employment
• Languages
• Civic and political participation
• Family reunion
• Long-term residence
• Citizenship

4. METHODOLOGY
Target group
• not born in the country (first-generation immigrants)
• who are or were non-EU citizens or stateless persons
Direct beneficiaries of most • residing in the country for more than one year
integration policies • holding or renewing any type of legal status
• 15 years or older
X Undocumented migrants today
X Descendants of immigrants (2nd generation)
Random sample and Method
Stratified random sample (preferably based on country of
comparable methods birth data from official sources)
Centres of aggregation’ method in IT, HU, PT
Multiple languages used in BE, HU, IT
40-minute face-to-face interviews
Telephone interviews in French in FR
Germany (Berlin and Stuttgart)
Sample size
Minimum of 300 to 400 successful interviews
Nearly 7,500 immigrants Total of 7,473 respondents

5. EMPLOYMENT
LANGUAGES
CIVIC AND POLITICAL
PARTICIPATION
FAMILY REUNION
LONG - TERM RESIDENCE
CITIZENSHIP

6. KEY FINDINGS
Legal integration makes a difference
 Most are or want to be long-term residents or citizens
 For few who don’t, they often do not want to settle in country or
do not see difference with current status
 Few potential family reunion sponsors. For some families,
separation is choice. For others, it is due to policy obstacles
HIGHLIGHTS
 Problems regularly reported with treatment by authorities (FR, IT,
PT), documents (BE, DE), and dual nationality (DE)
 Family reunion, long-term residence, and citizenship help people
get more settled, better jobs and sometimes better involved and
educated

7. KEY FINDINGS
Societal integration involves broader interests, problems, and policies
 High interest to participate. Many want more training, speak more
than one language, and want to vote (as much as nationals do).
 Personal challenges range from language skills to time to study
and balancing work and family life
 Problems with participation are often local
HIGHLIGHTS
 Immigrants regularly face structural problems in society
● Temporary or irregular work ● Mistrust of foreign qualifications,
● Discrimination ● or Limited public interest in diversity in politics
 More potential for needs-based courses, political participation
policies, and recognition of foreign qualifications

8. EMPLOYMENT
Key Findings
DOES YOUR CURRENT JOB MATCH YOUR SKILLS AND TRAINING?

9. HAVE YOU APPLIED FOR RECOGNITION OF
QUALIFICATIONS? WERE YOU ACCEPTED?
Educated immigrants often get their foreign qualifications
recognised if they apply, but few apply.

10. LANGUAGES
Key Findings
Wide range of immigrants
participated in language or
integration course.
Participants highly value courses for learning language
and often for socio-economic integration.

11. CIVIC AND POLITICAL
PARTICIPATION
Most immigrants want more
diversity in politics – and many
are willing to vote in support of it.

12. FAMILY REUNION
Key Findings
Family reunion
promotes integration
of the few separated
families who want to
reunite

13. LONG - TERM
RESIDENCE
80 and 95% of foreigners are or want to become long-term residents
Policies and the
way they are
implemented
create problems
for people
applying

14. CITIZENSHIP
Key Findings
3 out of 4 are or want
to be citizens
Eligible people often
take years to apply
Results raise
concerns over full
long-term inclusion

15. www.immigrantsurvey.org

16. FAMILY REUNION
Key Findings

17. FAMILY REUNION
Key Findings