The 2022 census is in full swing, millions of citizens have already received their questionnaires. However, some questions cause confusion. Here’s an easy way to help yourself.
Millions of Germans will be surveyed as part of the 2022 census. In addition to the short survey of households, which only takes a few minutes, there are also additional questions about education, employment and occupation, which are somewhat more complex. Building and apartment owners also have to fill out an additional questionnaire, which can sometimes cause confusion.
Because if the Federal Office has the wrong address for an apartment owner, it can happen that you receive a cover letter for the building and apartment census for a property that you don’t know at all.
However, since you are obliged to answer the questionnaire, you cannot simply ignore the cover letter. We will therefore show you where you can get help with these and other complications with the census survey.
Fill out the census questionnaire correctly: How to get help
If you need help with a question, there are telephone hotlines specially set up for this purpose. You will find the contact details of the statistical office responsible for you on the cover letter.
However, since the hotlines are sometimes very busy, you may have to expect long waiting times and call again at a later time. Tip: You have a better chance of getting through if you call in the evening or at the weekend.
Alternatively, you can also use an online contact form where you can select the federal state that contacted you about the census. The FAQ section of the census website also answers the most important questions.
Census FAQ: Answers to the most important questions
In general:
If you have received an incorrect cover letter or are unable to cope with the online questionnaire and you cannot get through to your responsible hotline, be patient.
Even if answering the questions is mandatory and there is a risk of a fine if you refuse, this will not be imposed immediately. The Federal Office will send you a reminder with a new deadline, then a reminder and only then will you be fined, as project manager Katja Wilken explains to rbb.
The FAQ section of the census website is very cumbersome and can only be accessed using a keyword search. We have therefore selected three questions and their answers that, in our opinion, can cause the most problems.
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How should incorrect or outdated information in the questionnaire or cover letter be dealt with?
If the questionnaire or cover letter contains incorrect information about the property, such as an incorrect street or house number, please indicate the correction in the questionnaire with the question “Is this building address correct?”. Then answer the other questions about the property. If your address or your name is wrong on the cover letter, please answer the questions about the property in the questionnaire anyway. We no longer need to correct your address or your name – this data will be separated from the data collected later on.
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How do I have to fill out the questionnaire if the cover letter shows me a completely unknown building address?
In the event that you do not provide any information and are unable to name another contact person for the building address in question in the questionnaire, please indicate in the questionnaire that you are not the owner. To do this, answer the question “Is this building address correct?” with “Yes” and please enter “unknown” under information about the new owner. If you need help, please contact the telephone hotline of your responsible state statistical office. The contact details are on the cover letter.
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Which state statistical office is responsible for me as the owner if I own property in a federal state other than the federal state in which I live?
As part of the census of buildings and apartments, persons required to provide information will be contacted by post by the State Statistical Office responsible for them with a request to provide information. The location of the owner-occupied home, i.e. the relevant building address, and not the place of residence of the person obliged to provide information is decisive for the responsibility.
Census Questionnaire 2022: You can expect these questions
In addition to problems with the technical implementation or questions about the process of the survey, questions about the content can also arise.
- Employees with English-language job titles such as “Product Owner” or “Key Account Manager” may have difficulties when asked about the German name of their job
- Questions about part-time jobs and casual work may also require additional clarification depending on the individual case
To know what to expect from the census, you can take a look at the sample questionnaire that contains all the 2022 census questions. You can clarify tricky questions or special cases in advance.
