The first results of the 2018 migration motive survey were already published here in June 2019. The findings already described there have been significantly expanded by the final report now available:

To the departure questionnaire

We are particularly interested in the reasons for your decision to move in or out. Was there a professional reason or were personal reasons, e.g. the birth of a child, in the foreground? We are interested in your living preferences, i.e. whether and how your living conditions differed before and after the move. We are interested in how your living conditions and habits (e.g. mobility behavior) have changed. In addition, we want to gain more detailed insights into the course of your housing search, for example, how long you searched and through which channels. Finally, we'd love to hear about your plans for the future: Are you planning another move within Wolfsburg? Can you imagine returning to Wolfsburg? What would have to happen for that to happen?

To the immigration questionnaire

As a municipality, we have the task of providing you, the citizens, with the best possible living conditions. These range from questions of housing to issues of traditional services of general interest. In doing so, it is important to us to orient the development of the city to your needs and preferences (e.g., which apartment sizes are preferred by whom?). This can only succeed if you support us. Please take the time and let us know your opinion and wishes.

On the basis of your active support, the results will be used, on the one hand, for the further development of the Wolfsburg housing offensive. In concrete terms, this means that we will try to take into account not only the absolute number of housing requests, but also the qualitative design of your wishes and needs (e.g., apartment size, living environment, etc.). On the other hand, recommendations for action (e.g. what are the most important living environment conditions for respondents?) are to be formulated on the basis of the results.

Initial results are expected to be published on this page in Q2 2019.

Participation in the survey is, of course, voluntary. There are no right or wrong answers. Please simply write down your opinion and experiences. You can also leave unanswered any questions that may seem too private to you.

The statistical confidentiality of your information will be fully guaranteed. The questionnaires are processed exclusively in the sealed-off statistical office by persons who are bound to secrecy. The data of individual respondents will not be published. Only summarized results of population groups (e.g. women and men) are published. The City of Wolfsburg assures you that your information will be evaluated absolutely anonymously and confidentially.

The access password printed on the questionnaire and the corresponding barcode are required for the automatic recording of the questionnaires and ensure that each person contacted only participates once in the survey. Your answers from the questionnaire and your address data cannot be merged at any time, as they are stored separately from each other and merging is prevented by the system. Please do not put your name on the questionnaire and do not write a sender's address on the envelope to ensure anonymity on your part as well.

Responsible body: City of Wolfsburg, represented by the Lord Mayor, Porschestraße 49, 38440 Wolfsburg, Germany.
Data Protection Officer City of Wolfsburg: City of Wolfsburg, Data Protection Officer, Data Protection and IT Security, Porschestraße 49, 38440 Wolfsburg

Legal basis for the transfer of your address data from the registration office to the statistics office:

In accordance with Sections 34 and 37 of the Federal Registration Act (Bundesmeldegesetz), family name, first name, gender, current and previous addresses (street, house number, house number supplement if applicable) and age are transmitted as address data.

Use of your data:

Your personal data will be processed for the purpose of conducting the Migration Motive Survey 2018. The legal basis for this processing is Art. 6 (4) lit. e DSGVO in conjunction with. Art. 5 (1) lit. b and Art. 89 DSGVO (further processing of your personal data from the population register for statistical purposes). The printing of the letters and questionnaires is carried out externally by the company "GEMACO KG - Digitaldruck und Lettershop" within the framework of order processing according to Art. 28 DSGVO.

Duration of storage of your personal data:

The address data will be deleted immediately at the end of the survey period. The access password printed on the questionnaire and the associated barcode ensure a one-time participation in the survey as well as the automatic recording of the questionnaires. Your answers from the questionnaire and your address data are stored separately and cannot be merged. A conclusion from the questionnaire to your person is prevented by technical and organizational measures (recording of the data takes place exclusively in the isolated statistics office of the city of Wolfsburg) and is impossible after the end of the survey period (deletion of all address data).

Your rights vis-à-vis the City of Wolfsburg:

The survey is voluntary. If you have concerns, you can also omit individual questions of the questionnaire. You have the right to information (Art.15 DSGVO), the right to rectification (Art. 16 DSGVO), the right to erasure (Art.17 DSGVO), the right to restriction of processing (Art. 18 DSGVO), the right to data portability (Art. 20 DSGVO) and a right to object to processing (Art. 21 DSGVO).
You have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority (The State Commissioner for Data Protection of Lower Saxony, Prinzenstraße 5, 30159 Hannover, Germany).

Storage of survey data:

Your data will be treated in strict confidence. The anonymized survey data (information in the questionnaire) will be stored in the segregated area of the statistics office in the Strategic Planning, Urban Development, Statistics Department of the City of Wolfsburg without reference to your address data. The anonymous individual data will not be passed on. No individual data will be published in the results reports, only data summarized into groups.

For what purpose does the city of Wolfsburg conduct the migration motive survey?

In general, citizens are surveyed in order to involve them in the design and development of the city with their opinions and assessments. In particular, this survey is intended to gain more precise insights into the question of why people move in and out of the city. The citizens' opinions also serve the city administration and the political bodies as an important basis for future decisions on the further development of the city.

Where does the address data come from? Why am I being written to?

The addresses needed to conduct the survey are collected at random from the residents' registration file exclusively for the respective survey and are made available exclusively to the responsible, compartmentalized statistics office of the city administration.

What is the purpose of the access password and barcode on the questionnaire?

Each respondent is assigned a different, randomly generated access password that allows them to participate in the survey. This ensures that each respondent participates in the survey only once. The respective access password and the survey results of the individual respondent are kept separate from each other so that anonymity is guaranteed at all times and no conclusions can be drawn about individual persons and their answers.

I have already taken part in a survey by the city of Wolfsburg. Why am I being contacted again now?

The addresses are drawn at random from the residents' registration file. There is a possibility that you may be selected for different surveys. In addition, the selection depends on the respective topic of the survey. For example, you may have been selected for the 2016 family survey and will also be drawn for the migration motive survey this year.

How many people will be contacted?

In the context of the migration motive survey, around 4,000 people moving in and out are contacted. This large number of people is necessary to obtain representative results.

Can someone else from my household fill out the questionnaire?

No. Due to the chosen methodology, it is important that only the person who was contacted by the City of Wolfsburg fills out the questionnaire.

Why did several people in my household receive a questionnaire? Is it enough if we only fill out one questionnaire?

Please each individually fill out your questionnaire, which was addressed to you personally. Even if you live together in one household, there are reasons why you may have received multiple questionnaires. We are interested in your living conditions before and after the move. These may have been different for several people in one household before the move, for example because they did not live together before.

Do I have to participate?

No, participation in this survey is voluntary. However, your response is important: Only if as many of the people contacted as possible take part in the survey and answer as many questions as possible will a valid and meaningful result be produced that provides important information for the city administration's specialized planning.

Where are the questionnaires stored or the data saved?

If you participate with a paper questionnaire, please complete it and return it in the enclosed envelope to the Department of Strategic Planning, Urban Development, Statistics. After the questionnaire has arrived there, it will be recorded electronically. After capture, the completed paper questionnaires will be destroyed. The electronically recorded questionnaire information is then stored - separately from your address data - together with the information from the online participations in our sealed-off statistics office. The address data is used solely for the purpose of conducting the survey and cannot be linked to the responses. The address data will be deleted as soon as possible, but no later than after the reminder has been sent.

I do not want to answer a question. Then should I fill out the questionnaire at all?

Even if you do not want to answer individual questions, it will help us a lot if you answer the rest of the questions and return the sheet.

I have misplaced the questionnaire. Can I get a new copy?

You will receive another reminder with the questionnaire about halfway through the survey period. You can then use this as an alternative.

How does online participation work?

To complete the questionnaire online, you can click on the link at the top of this page. This will take you to the log-in page where you can enter your ten-digit access password. The access password can be found on the top right of the cover letter and on the bottom left of each page of the paper questionnaire.
Alternatively, you can also participate online with your smartphone or tablet by scanning the QR code on your cover letter with your respective mobile device. You do not need to enter your access password here.

I have already replied. Why am I receiving a reminder letter?

It is possible that your questionnaire has not yet been recorded at the time the reminder letter is sent. If you have already returned the questionnaire or completed it online, you do not need to do anything further and can simply ignore the reminder letter.

Every year, a large number of people move to the city of Wolfsburg and a similar number leave the urban area. The city administration knows from population statistics how many people migrate from A to B each year and also e.g. which age groups are moving. It doesn't, however, know anything about their motives or the specific grounds for their move. To find that out, we are surveying people who have moved to Wolfsburg within the past two years. We are also questioning those who have left Wolfsburg during the last two years to relocate to an adjacent region, to the Region Hannover or to Berlin.

We're particularly interested in why you have decided to move here or move away. Was there a professional or career-related reason for doing so, or were personal reasons the main motivation, e.g. the birth of a child? It's also about your living preferences, i.e. whether and in what way your living conditions differ before and after your move. We'd like to know how your housing circumstances and your routines (e.g. mobility behavior) have changed. We'd also like to obtain more detailed information about how your search for a home progressed and where you looked, for example how long you searched through which particular channels. Finally, we'd be pleased to hear about your plans for the future: are you planning a further move within Wolfsburg? Can you imagine returning to Wolfsburg? What would need to happen for that to take place?

As a municipality, it's our task to provide you, the citizens, with the best possible living conditions. This covers issues ranging from the availability of adequate living space to the classic provision of public utilities and services. In this context, it's important for us to orientate the development of the city around your needs and preferences (e.g. which flat/apartment sizes are preferred by whom?). This can only succeed if we can count on your support and assistance. Please take the time to let us know your opinion in the survey and tell us your wishes.

The findings obtained as the result of your active support are to be used in two ways. Firstly, to further enhance the Wolfsburg housing offensive: in concrete terms, we want to try to take into account not only the absolute quantity of the demand for housing, but also the qualitative aspects of your wishes and needs (e.g. home size, living environment, etc.). Secondly, the intention is to formulate recommendations for action on the basis of the results (e.g. what are the most important living environment conditions as far as our respondents are concerned?).

Initial results are expected to be published on this website in the second quarter of 2019.

Your participation in the survey is of course voluntary. There are no right or wrong answers. Please simply write down your opinion and experiences. If any questions seem too private to you, feel free to skip them without answering.

Controller: City of Wolfsburg, represented by the Mayor, Porschestraße 49, 38440 Wolfsburg, Germany
Data Protection Officer of the City of Wolfsburg: City of Wolfsburg, Data Protection Officer,
Data Protection and IT Security, Porschestraße 49, 38440 Wolfsburg

Legal basis for the transmission of your address data from the registration authority to the statistics office:

In accordance with Sections 34 and 37 of the Federal Act on Registration, the following data are transmitted as address data: surname, given name (first name), sex, current and previous addresses (street, house number, house number affix if applicable), and age.

Use of your data:

Your personal data will be processed for the purpose of conducting the 2018 Survey of Migration Motives. The legal basis for this processing is Article 6, Paragraph 4, lit. e of the GDPR in conjunction with Article 5, Paragraph 1, lit. b and Article 89 of the GDPR (Further processing of your personal data from the population register for statistical purposes). The printing of the cover letters and questionnaires is being carried out externally by the company "GEMACO KG - Digitaldruck und Lettershop" as part of a processing order pursuant to Article 28 of the GDPR.

Length of storage of your personal data:

The address data will be deleted immediately at the end of the survey period. The access password printed on the questionnaire and the corresponding barcode ensure a one-time participation in the survey and enable the automatic registration of the questionnaires. Your responses in the questionnaire and your address data are stored separately and cannot be merged. The drawing of any inference from the answers in the questionnaire to your personal identity, or the establishment of any connection between them, is prevented by technical and organisational measures (the data are recorded exclusively in the isolated statistics office of the City of Wolfsburg administration with protection against unauthorised access) and is impossible after the end of the survey period (through the deletion of all address data).

Your rights in relation to the City of Wolfsburg:

Participation in the survey is voluntary. If you have any concerns or reservations, you can also leave individual questions in the questionnaire unanswered. You have the right of access (Article 15 of the GDPR), the right to rectification (Article 16 of the GDPR), the right to erasure (Article 17 of the GDPR), the right to restriction of processing (Article 18 of the GDPR), the right to data portability (Article 20 of the GDPR), and the right to object to processing (Article 21 of the GDPR).
You have a right of appeal to the supervisory authority (The State Commissioner for Data Protection Lower Saxony, Prinzenstraße 5, 30159 Hannover).

Storage of the survey data

Your information will be treated strictly confidentially. The anonymised survey data (information given in the questionnaire) are stored in the secure, protected and isolated area of the statistics office in the Strategic Planning, Urban Development and Statistics department of the City of Wolfsburg without reference to your address data. A transfer or forwarding of the anonymous individual data does not take place. In the result reports, only summarised (aggregate) data on groups are published and no individual information or details.

What is the purpose of the Survey of Migration Motives conducted by the City of Wolfsburg?

In general, citizens are interviewed to involve them in the design, planning and development of the city and enable the opinions and appraisals they offer to inform these processes. The aim of this particular survey is to obtain a more accurate picture of why people are moving into and out of the city. The views expressed by the citizens questioned also serve the city administration and the various political bodies as an important basis for taking future decisions on the further development of the city.

Where do the address data come from? Why am I, in particular, being contacted?

The addresses needed to carry out a survey are gathered using a random sampling procedure from the official register of residents exclusively for that particular survey. They are made available solely to the relevant statistics office of the city administration, where the information is completely protected against unauthorised access.

What is the purpose of the access password and barcode on the questionnaire?

Each respondent is assigned a different, randomly generated access password that makes it possible to participate in the survey. This ensures that every respondent only takes part in the survey once. The respective access password and the survey results of each individual respondent are stored separately. This guarantees anonymity at all times and ensures that no inferences can be made in relation to individual persons and their answers.

I have already taken part in a survey from the City of Wolfsburg. Why am I being contacted again?

The addresses are randomly extracted from the official register of residents. As a result, it is always possible that you may be selected for more than one survey. In addition, the selection criteria also depend on the respective topic of the survey. For example, you may have been selected for Family Survey in 2016 and you may also be picked out again to take part in the Survey of Migration Motives this year.

How many people will be contacted?

For the Survey of Migration Motives, around 4,000 people are being contacted who have moved to Wolfsburg and around the same number who have moved away. Such a large sample of people is necessary to obtain representative results.

Can someone else in my household complete the questionnaire?

No. Due to the methodology we have chosen to adopt, it is important that only the person who has been directly contacted by the City of Wolfsburg completes the questionnaire.

Why have several people in my household received a questionnaire? Is it sufficient when just one questionnaire is completed?

We ask each of you to individually fill out the questionnaire that was personally addressed to you. Even when you're living together in one single household, it still makes sense that you've received several questionnaires. We are interested in your living circumstances before and after your move. These may well have been different for the various individuals now living together in a household before their change of residence, for example because they weren't living together beforehand.

Do I have to take part?

No, your participation in this survey is voluntary. However, what you have to say is important to us: a valid and meaningful result can only be produced when as many of those contacted as possible take part in the survey and answer as many questions they can. Such a broad-based response provides significant information to the planning specialists within the city administration.

Where are the questionnaires stored and the data archived?

If you take part in the survey via the paper version of the questionnaire, complete it and return it in the enclosed envelope to the Strategic Planning, Urban Development and Statistics department. The questionnaire is recorded electronically as soon as it is received. After the data have been transferred, the filled-out paper questionnaires will be destroyed. The electronically recorded data from the questionnaire will then be stored - separately from your address data - in our secure statistics office together with the data derived from those participating online. The address data are used solely for the purpose of organising the survey and cannot be linked or correlated with the answers you have given. Your address data will be deleted as quickly as possible, at the latest after a letter reminding you that you have not yet returned the questionnaire has been sent out to you.

There's a question I prefer not to answer. Should I bother completing the rest of the questionnaire?

Even if you don't want to answer certain specific questions, it still helps us considerably if you answer the rest of the questions and send the questionnaire back to us.

I've lost the questionnaire form. Can I get a new one?

You'll automatically receive a reminder letter together with a copy of the questionnaire after around half of the survey period has expired. You can then use this questionnaire instead.

How does online participation work?

To complete the questionnaire online, you can click on the link at the top of this page. You then reach the login page, where you can enter your ten-digit access password. You'll find your access password at the top right of the cover letter and at the bottom left of each page of the paper questionnaire.
Alternatively, you can take part in the survey online using your smartphone or tablet by scanning the QR code on your cover letter. With this method using a mobile device, you don't need to enter your access password.

I've already given my answers. Why am I getting a reminder?

It's possible that your questionnaire had not yet been recorded when the reminder was sent out. If you've already returned the questionnaire or filled it out online, no further action is required on your part and you can simply ignore the reminder.