The FRA recently piloted victim survey research on minorities in preparing for a full-scale survey throughout the European Union (EU). This paper begins by outlining the FRA's mandate for data collection. It then notes deficits in the quantity and quality of official criminal justice data in EU member states regarding racist violence and related crime. The body of the paper then explores the possibilities and challenges of victim survey research on minority groups with reference to the FRA's pilot survey research in six EU member states. Since the pilot survey's results are for internal use by the FRA, the paper focuses on how to conduct effective surveys of groups that are difficult to survey. Since the FRA's forthcoming full-scale survey will be the first standardized EU survey on minorities, lessons learned from the FRA's work in this area are presented. The lessons pertain to the definition and identification of populations to be surveyed, the availability of population data and the development of sampling frames, and questionnaire standardization and delivery. A revised survey questionnaire is currently being developed, based on findings from the pilot survey. The new questionnaire will not only contain questions on criminal victimization, policing, and fear of crime, but also on respondents' experiences of discrimination regarding essential public and consumer services, as well as awareness of civil rights and civil participation. The aim of the questionnaire is to obtain information directly from vulnerable minorities on their criminal victimization, racist and religiously motivated victimization, and discriminatory police treatment in the wider context of their daily experiences of discrimination. 14 references