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Obviously, there can be no accurate count of illegal immigrants. Surprisingly, there are many countries with no accurate count of legal immigrants, either…

germany:

• As of 2020, Germany had 5.2 million immigrants under EU freedom of movement. For these migrants registration is mostly a matter of tax law, and they can enter first, register only later when they find housing and work.
• 2.5 million immigrants had permanent residence status without EU freedom. That count is somewhat more certain. Some might have left without de-registering.
• 600 thousand had non-permanent residence status. e.g. student visa. Again a reasonably certain number.
• 2.0 million had various kinds of recognized refugee status.
• 410 thousand had their immigration status under review.
• 780 thousand had their immigration request denied, but
  • 450 thousand of those were permitted to stay temporarily and
  • 330 thousand were required to leave, yet approximately 80% of those were not required to leave immediately for various reasons. This source gives 45 thousand required to leave for 2020, which does not quite match 20% of 330 thousand but comes close.
• Then there are those whose presence is unknown to the authorities. For 2016 there was an estimate of half a million, but that number is highly controversial.

The term 'illegal immigrant' can be used to describe many different situations, including people who crossed the border illegally and managed to avoid notice by the authorities, people who crossed the border illegally, claimed asylum, and received permission to stay while that claim is evaluated, and people who received an order to leave and did not comply. The first of these groups obviously has no official count.

germany

There are approximatelyly 12 million immigrants in Germany who have not gained citizenship, and depending on the categories approx. 0.5 million, 0.8 million, or 1.2 million could be counted as 'illegal.'

• As of 2020, Germany had 5.2 million immigrants under EU freedom of movement. For these migrants registration is mostly a matter of tax law, and they can enter first, register only later when they find housing and work. These are legal immigrants.
• 2.5 million immigrants had permanent residence status without EU freedom. That count is somewhat more certain. Some might have left without de-registering. These are legal immigrants.
• 600 thousand had non-permanent residence status. e.g. student visa. Again a reasonably certain number. These are legal immigrants.
• 2.0 million had various kinds of recognized refugee status. These are now legal immigrants.
• 410 thousand had their immigration status under review.
• 780 thousand had their immigration request denied, but
  • 450 thousand of those were permitted to stay temporarily and
  • 330 thousand were required to leave, yet approximately 80% of those were not required to leave immediately for various reasons. This source gives 45 thousand required to leave for 2020, which does not quite match 20% of 330 thousand but comes close.
• Then there are those whose presence is unknown to the authorities. For 2016 there was an estimate of half a million, but that number is highly controversial.

Obviously, there can be no accurate count of illegal immingrants. Surprisingly, there are many countries with no accurate count of legal immigrants, either ...

germany:

• As of 2020, Germany had 5.2 million immigrants under EU freedom of movement. For these migrants registration is mostly a matter of tax law, and they can enter first, register only later when they find housing and work.
• 2.5 million immigrants had permanent residence status without EU freedom. That count is somewhat more certain. Some might have left without de-registering.
• 600 thousand had non-permanent residence status. e.g. student visa. Again a reasonably certain number.
• 2.0 million had various kinds of recognized refugee status.
• 410 thousand had their immigration status under review.
• 780 thousand had their immigration request denied, but
  • 450 thousand of those were permitted to stay temporarily and
  • 330 thousand were required to leave, yet approximately 80% of those were not required to leave immediately for various reasons. This source gives 45 thousand required to leave for 2020, which does not quite match 20% of 330 thousand but comes close.
• Then there are those whose presence is unknown to the authorities. For 2016 there was an estimate of half a million, but that number is highly controversial.

Obviously, there can be no accurate count of illegal immigrants. Surprisingly, there are many countries with no accurate count of legal immigrants, either…

germany:

• As of 2020, Germany had 5.2 million immigrants under EU freedom of movement. For these migrants registration is mostly a matter of tax law, and they can enter first, register only later when they find housing and work.
• 2.5 million immigrants had permanent residence status without EU freedom. That count is somewhat more certain. Some might have left without de-registering.
• 600 thousand had non-permanent residence status. e.g. student visa. Again a reasonably certain number.
• 2.0 million had various kinds of recognized refugee status.
• 410 thousand had their immigration status under review.
• 780 thousand had their immigration request denied, but
  • 450 thousand of those were permitted to stay temporarily and
  • 330 thousand were required to leave, yet approximately 80% of those were not required to leave immediately for various reasons. This source gives 45 thousand required to leave for 2020, which does not quite match 20% of 330 thousand but comes close.
• Then there are those whose presence is unknown to the authorities. For 2016 there was an estimate of half a million, but that number is highly controversial.

Obviously, there can be no accurate count of illegal immingrants. Surprisingly, there are many countries with no accurate count of legal immigrants, either ...

germany:

• As of 2020, had 5.2 million immigrants under EU freedom of movement. For these migrants registration is mostly a matter of tax law, and they can enter first, register only later when they find housing and work.
• 2.5 million immigrants had permanent residence status without EU freedom. That count is somewhat more certain. Some might have left without de-registering.
• 600 thousand had non-permanent residence status. e.g. student visa. Again a reasonably certain number.
• 2.0 million had various kinds of recognized refugee status.
• 410 thousand had their immigration status under review.
• 780 thousand had their immigration request denied, but
  • 450 thousand of those were permitted to stay temporarily and
  • 330 thousand were required to leave, yet approximately 80% of those were not required to leave immediately for various reasons. This source gives 45 thousand required to leave for 2020, which does not quite match 20% of 330 thousand but comes close.
• Then there are those whose presence is unknown to the authorities. For 2016 there was an estimate of half a million, but that number is highly controversial.

Obviously, there can be no accurate count of illegal immingrants. Surprisingly, there are many countries with no accurate count of legal immigrants, either ...

germany:

• As of 2020, Germany had 5.2 million immigrants under EU freedom of movement. For these migrants registration is mostly a matter of tax law, and they can enter first, register only later when they find housing and work.
• 2.5 million immigrants had permanent residence status without EU freedom. That count is somewhat more certain. Some might have left without de-registering.
• 600 thousand had non-permanent residence status. e.g. student visa. Again a reasonably certain number.
• 2.0 million had various kinds of recognized refugee status.
• 410 thousand had their immigration status under review.
• 780 thousand had their immigration request denied, but
  • 450 thousand of those were permitted to stay temporarily and
  • 330 thousand were required to leave, yet approximately 80% of those were not required to leave immediately for various reasons. This source gives 45 thousand required to leave for 2020, which does not quite match 20% of 330 thousand but comes close.
• Then there are those whose presence is unknown to the authorities. For 2016 there was an estimate of half a million, but that number is highly controversial.