Administrative sources

Most countries have administrative procedures to register foreigners or to grant permits to stay, work or study in the country. Statistics from these sources refer to administrative records rather than people. Although still not fully recognized as a source of migration statistics in many countries, these administrative records can, to some extent, identify and analyse migrant stocks and flows. Administrative sources can be grouped into three major categories (Global Migration Group, 2017):

Administrative registers that include population registers, registers of foreigners, and other special types of registers covering specific migrant groups such as asylum seekers. Countries with well-established population registers can obtain much of their migration data from administrative sources rather than population censuses or household surveys. As the registers use a PIN there is room for linking data about a person to various other administrative sources generating information about a migrants’ educational attainment, type of housing, medical history, etc. (UNECE, 2016b).
Border data collection or information collected at ports of entry and departure from a country (even if they are not at the physical border, e.g., airports). Statistics from border data collection systems have the advantage of reflecting actual movement as accurately as possible, but the task of gathering such information is beyond the means available to many countries. While in theory border data should provide a useful source of information on international migration flows, in practice there are many difficulties around collecting reliable information about a large mass of people subject to different entry regulations depending on their citizenship, mode of transport and port of entry (Global Migration Group, 2017). Passport control and special cards filled by passengers are categorized as administrative data since they perform a government function of controlling entries and exits (UNECE, 2016b).
Visas, residence permits and/or work permits produce data on the inflows and outflows of specific/policy-relevant international migrant groups. For example, work permits provide data on migrant workers while residence permits provide data on international migrants (depending on whether the time threshold for applying for residence matches with standard definitions of an international migrant or ‘mover’).

What are the strengths of administrative data?

Unlike population censuses or sample surveys, administrative systems collect data on a regular basis and are more reliable in that the data are verifiable and linked to official documentation. Administrative sources are usually managed by one government entity which means that the data collection, storage and processing methods are standardized. One of the key advantages of data from this source is their low cost, as they are already collected for other purposes, unlike population censuses and household surveys (UNECE, 2016b). Administrative records can provide information on international migration flows if records pertaining to the same person are linked by a PIN and they are a rich source of data on policy-relevant migrant groups such as international students, asylum seekers, international migrant workers and seasonal workers.

Case study: combining administrative records and survey data to estimate the numbers of international migrants in Chile (Hinojosa, 2023)

Using a combination of census data and administrative records, the Chilean National Institute of Statistics (INE) estimated the number of foreigners living in the country according to nationality, disaggregated by region and county where they have settled in Chile. The production of vital statistics in Chile is facilitated by a 1982 tripartite agreement between INE, the Civil Registration and Identification Service (SRCel) and the Ministry of Health (Minsal) that is continuously updated. Furthermore, INE makes use of administrative records from the National Migration Service (Sermig) and the Investigations Police (PDI). In 2017, the post-census administrative records captured a significant increase in Venezuelan immigration. Approximately 80% of the information on migrants from Venezuela came from administrative records. By adding information from the census to information from administrative records, Venezuelans became the largest migrant group in the country, representing 30% of the estimated total in 2021.

What are the limitations of administrative data?

First, administrative records count events (such as an entry/exit, an apprehension or an application) rather than actual persons, which means that in many cases countries will not be able to link together multiple departures/arrivals of the same person during the reference period. For example, the number of deportations per year may be higher than the number of persons deported if persons are deported more than once from the same country in one year and events concerning the same individual cannot be linked by a PIN. Permits are not only issued to new arriving foreigners, but also to those who have resided in the country for the period after which a renewal of change of visa type is required (Global Migration Group, 2017). Furthermore, dependents are often covered by the permit of the primary applicant, for example, a single application for asylum can be filed on behalf of a family and the spouse and children of a migrant worker are permitted based on the same work permit (IOM, 2020a).

Case study: strengthening the quality of civil registration data on migration in Mongolia

It is important to note that the quality of data produced by administrative records, which are a key source of information on internal migration, varies considerably across countries. For example, a systematic review of national migration data in Mongolia, where it is estimated that around one-fourth of the population have internal migration experiences, demonstrated considerable discrepancies between migration statistics retried from the civil registration system and from censuses and survey. This was primarily caused by incomplete registration of migration by public officials due to limited awareness of the importance of registering such events and limited coordination between key migration management government stakeholders (IOM 2023b). In order to address these challenges, IOM Mongolia hosted a three-day training for national and municipal institutions responsible for data management in Mongolia. This training guided participants through the principles and practice of migration data collection, management and analysis, including survey data analysis of migration using Stata software, questionnaire development using Kobo Toolbox, as well as data integration and analysis methods (IOM, 2022).

Highlight: Gender-unaware data sources

Some of the data sources referenced in the Essentials of Migration Data (EMD) may reinforce a gender-unaware approach depending on how the data are recorded. In order to avoid a gender-unaware approach, survey administration should avoid sampling designs that measure the household based on the “head of household” or those that focus on the household as a homogenous unit, rather than on individuals within it. Administrative data that keep records on temporary migrant work visas and study permits can be used to analyse migrant flows, but they may focus on primary applicants, neglecting detailed information on spouses or families of temporary migrants in particular.

Chapter overview