Internal Migration of Asylum Seekers: Navigating through Reception Network and Administrative Procedures in Belgium

Natacha Zimmer , UCLouvain, DEMO

This study contributes to the understanding of how administrative procedures, residence status, and internal mobility are interlinked and how they impact the life course of asylum-seeking migrants in Belgium. It underscores the importance of examining the long-term implications of administrative pathways for these migrants. Complex legal trajectories and recurrent periods of irregularity shape asylum seekers and refugees’ mobility. This research employs a quantitative and longitudinal approach, analysing data from a cohort of asylum seekers who arrived in Belgium between 2012 and 2016. National register data provides precise information on their residence history, asylum procedures, and residence permits. Preliminary findings support the hypothesis that asylum seekers who obtain international protection tend to migrate internally to urban areas. These recognised refugees have left the reception network and choose their residence in Belgium. Further analyses using event history models will explore the influence of the various residence permit on the internal migrations of asylum-seeking migrants.

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 Presented in Session 14. Flash session Migrant Populations