Whether this is due to the healthy migrant effect is not immediately clear. For groups like the Aussiedler who have a legal right to migrate to Germany without fulfilling any prerequisites (at least in times when the majority immigrated), it may be assumed that the impact of self-selection on mortality trends is attenuated due to the small number of people staying in the country of origin. The assumption that almost all ethnic Germans migrated to Germany is supported by the continuously declining numbers of newly arriving Aussiedler. On the other hand, declining numbers of migrants may also be due to changes in German law
