External Migration refers to those who have been found to have migrated into or out of the Demographic Surveillance Area and is distinct from internal migration of registered members remaining within the DSA.

External In-Migration refers to those who have been found to have migrated into the Demographic Surveillance Area from somewhere outside the DSA. When people migrate from a location outside the DSA to a location in the DSA, they join another household or form a new household in the DSA. External In-Migration can occur to people who have previously been registered in the DSS but have left the DSA or to people who have migrated into the DSA from a location outside the DSA and have never been previously registered into the DSS.  A standard Migration-In Form is filled for such persons.

To qualify as an External In-Migrant, the migrant must have lived in the DSA location for a specific period determined by the DSS. For Example in Kintampo and Navrongo DSS one is said to be an in- migrant if he/she has lived with the household for at one round or newly married women regardless of length of stay with the household. In Matlab, the criterion is six months and regardless of length of stay with the household if she is newly married woman.

If the person does not meet the criteria, a note should be made in your field note book and in the opposite blank page in the HRB on the date the migrant joined the household or formed the new household, date of birth sex, where he migrated out from etc. This will help the next time a visit is made to the household and the migrant is qualified as an In-Migrant.

In case of a migration in, the Household Record Book (HRB) is updated by entering the name under the appropriate household the migrant belong to, date of birth, sex, spouse identification, and mother/father identification, if relevant and the events column in the HRB coded MI. A migration in Form is then completed for the migrant. The migration in Form must be completed after the HRB has been updated. Completion of form away from the household involved is prohibited (i.e., do not wait until you have closed for the day to complete forms for events encountered in the field).

External Out-Migration occurs when a registered resident member of the DSA migrates from his/her current location to another location outside the DSA. To qualify as member who has migrated out, the person must be away for a specific period defined by the DSS. For Example in Kintampo and Navrongo DSS, one is said to have migrated out if he/she has been away for at least one round. In Matlab, the criterion is six months and in other sites there may be no definite timeline but if the fieldworker is convinced from the responses he/she gets from the other household members that the person will not return to the household, then the person is treated as an Out- Migrant.

If the person does not meet the criteria, a note should be made in your field note book and in the opposite blank page in the HRB. The note should include the date of migration which in most cases will be different from the date of visit to the household. This will help the next time a visit is made to the household and the migrant has not yet returned.

The Household Record Book (HRB) is updated by entering or coding MA against the migrant’s name in the events column, after which a Migration out Form is completed. Remember to complete the Migration-Out Form in the field and the respondent should be someone with a good knowledge about the migrant if possible. The migration out Form must be completed after the HRB has been updated. Completion of form away from the household involved is prohibited (i.e., do not wait until you have closed for the day to complete forms for events encountered in the field). Remember to state the reason in the HRB if it is for marriage.

Births to mothers who were temporarily absent for reasons of pregnancy termination are births to the mother’s sample household. The infant should not be treated as an in-migrant when the mother returns to her household. Also, deaths to infants during their absence are to be reported as deaths along with the birth. 

Conversely births and deaths to women and their infants who are present in a different household solely for the purpose of delivery should not be registered, but flagged and reported to the field office for arrangements to made for the fieldworker in the original household of the mother to pick the event.

The Migration-Out Form is administered in the household where the person was previously living. If he/she left the DSA and comes back later to join a household in a location within the DSA, then Migration-In Form is completed for him/her. If the migrant has not been previously registered and migrated from outside the DSA, then a Migration-In Form is administered to him/her. Remember the migrant may join an existing household or form a new household in their new location.