Democratic Republic of the Congo Emigration and Immigration

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Democratic Republic of the Congo

Emigration and Immigration

Online Records

Online Sources

• 1878-1960 UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1890-1960 Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960 at Findmypast - index & images ($)
• 1892-1924 New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924 Search results for the Congo
• 1946-1971 Free Access: Africa, Asia and Europe, Passenger Lists of Displaced Persons, 1946-1971 Ancestry, free. Index and images. Passenger lists of immigrants leaving Germany and other European ports and airports between 1946-1971. The majority of the immigrants listed in this collection are displaced persons - Holocaust survivors, former concentration camp inmates and Nazi forced laborers, as well as refugees from Central and Eastern European countries and some non-European countries.
• United States Immigration Online Genealogy Records

Finding the Town of Origin in Democratic Republic of the Congo

If you are using emigration/immigration records to find the name of your ancestors' town in Democratic Republic of the Congo, see Democratic Republic of the Congo Finding Town of Origin for additional research strategies.

Democratic Republic of the Congo Emigration and Immigration

"Emigration" means moving out of a country. "Immigration" means moving into a country.
Emigration and immigration sources list the names of people leaving (emigrating) or arriving (immigrating) in the country. These sources may be passenger lists, permissions to emigrate, or records of passports issued. The information in these records may include the emigrants’ names, ages, occupations, destinations, and places of origin or birthplaces. Sometimes they also show family groups.

Name Changes

The Republic of the Congo was a sovereign state in Central Africa, created with the independence of the Belgian Congo in 1960. From 1960 to 1966, the country was also known as Congo-Léopoldville (after its capital) to distinguish it from its northwestern neighbor, which is also called the Republic of the Congo, alternatively known as "Congo-Brazzaville"'. In 1964, the state's official name was changed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but the two countries continued to be distinguished by their capitals; with the renaming of Léopoldville as Kinsh in 1966, it became also known as Congo-Kinshasa. After Joseph Désiré Mobutu, commander-in-chief of the national army, seized control of the country, it became the Republic of Zaire in 1971. It would again become the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997. The period between 1960 and 1965 is referred to as the First Congolese Republic.

Immigration to DRC

• Evidence suggests that DRC continues to be a destination country for immigrants. Immigration is very diverse in nature; refugees and asylum-seekers constitute an important subset of the population. Additionally, the country's large mine operations attract migrant workers from Africa and beyond. There is also considerable migration for commercial activities from other African countries and the rest of the world, but these movements are not well studied.
• Transit migration towards South Africa and Europe also plays a role.
• Immigration to the DRC has decreased steadily over the past two decades, most likely as a result of the armed violence that the country has experienced. According to the International Organization for Migration, the number of immigrants in the DRC has fallen from just over one million in 1960, to 754,000 in 1990, to 480,000 in 2005, to an estimated 445,000 in 2010.

Emigration From DRC

• The vast majority of Americans of African ancestry in the United States are descendants of the 400,000 black slaves forcibly brought to the New World prior to 1860. Most of these slaves came from a small section (approximately 300 miles long) of the Atlantic coast between the Congo and Gambia rivers in East Africa.
• Figures for Congolese nationals abroad vary greatly depending on the source, from three to six million. This discrepancy is due to a lack of official, reliable data.
• Emigrants from the DRC are above all long-term emigrants, the majority of whom live in Africa and to a lesser extent in Europe; 79.7% and 15.3% respectively, according to estimated 2000 data.
• New destination countries include South Africa, Nigeria, and various points en route to Europe.
• The DRC has produced a considerable number of refugees and asylum-seekers located in the region and beyond. These numbers peaked in 2004 when, according to UNHCR, there were more than 460,000 refugees from the DRC; in 2008, Congolese refugees numbered 367,995 in total, 68% of whom were living in other African countries. Since 2003, more than 400,000 Congolese migrants have been expelled from Angola.

The table below shows DRC-born people who have emigrated abroad in selected Western countries (although it excludes their descendants).

France: 59,641 Belgium: 44,715 United States: 20,410 Canada: 19,890 Great Britain: 19,193 Germany: 9,299 Switzerland: 6,724 Italy: 6,010

Netherlands: 4,973 Australia: 2,576 Norway: 2,210 Sweden: 3,092 Spain: 1,494 Finland: 1,523 Denmark: 1,264 Austria: 1,258

Records of DRC Emigrants in Their Destination Nations

One option is to look for records about the ancestor in the country of destination, the country they immigrated into. See links to Wiki articles about immigration records for major destination countries below. Additional Wiki articles for other destinations can be found at Category:Emigration and Immigration Records.

United States Emigration and Immigration Canada Emigration and Immigration France Emigration and Immigration Belgium Emigration and Immigration England Emigration and Immigration Germany Emigration and Immigration Switzerland Emigration and Immigration Italy Emigration and Immigration

Netherlands Emigration and Immigration Australia Emigration and Immigration Norway Emigration and Immigration Sweden Emigration and Immigration Spain Emigration and Immigration Finland Emigration and Immigration Denmark Emigration and Immigration Austria Emigration and Immigration

Records

Much of African culture is based on oral tradition, but records such as slave sales and slave advertisements may give a clue toward slave origins in Africa. Getting your slave ancestor back to Africa may just not be possible, but your best chances lie with scrutinizing every record you can find for clues and by being familiar with the slave trade in the area in which you are researching.

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