info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/product/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
> - [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/249160) in GitLab 13.7 for group resources [with a flag](../../feature_flags.md) named `bulk_import`. Disabled by default.
> - [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/267945) in GitLab 14.4 for project resources [with a flag](../../feature_flags.md) named `bulk_import_projects`. Disabled by default.
Then create the group you want to import into, and connect:
1. Create a new group or subgroup:
- On the top bar, select `+` and then **New group**.
- Or, on an existing group's page, in the top right, select **New subgroup**.
1. Select **Import group**.
1. Enter the source URL of your GitLab instance.
1. Generate or copy a [personal access token](../../../user/profile/personal_access_tokens.md)
with the `api` and `read_repository` scopes on your remote GitLab instance.
1. Enter the [personal access token](../../../user/profile/personal_access_tokens.md) for your remote GitLab instance.
1. Select **Connect instance**.
### Select the groups to import
After you have authorized access to the GitLab instance, you are redirected to the GitLab Group
Migration importer page. The remote groups you have the Owner role for are listed.
1. By default, the proposed group namespaces match the names as they exist in remote instance, but based on your permissions, you can choose to edit these names before you proceed to import any of them.
1. Next to the groups you want to import, select **Import**.
1. The **Status** column shows the import status of each group. If you leave the page open, it updates in real-time.
1. After a group has been imported, select its GitLab path to open its GitLab URL.
The [`import_export.yml`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/blob/master/lib/gitlab/import_export/group/import_export.yml)
file for groups lists many of the items migrated when migrating groups using group migration. View this file in the branch
for your version of GitLab to see the list of items relevant to you. For example,
[`import_export.yml` on the `14-10-stable-ee` branch](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/blob/14-10-stable-ee/lib/gitlab/import_export/group/import_export.yml).
Migrating projects with file exports uses the same export and import mechanisms as creating projects from templates at the [group](../custom_project_templates.md) and
[instance](../../admin_area/custom_project_templates.md) levels. Therefore, the list of exported items is the same.
Items that are migrated to the target instance include:
> - [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/267945) in GitLab 14.4 [with a flag](../../feature_flags.md) named `bulk_import_projects`. Disabled by default.
> - [Enabled on GitLab.com](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/339941) in GitLab 15.6.
On self-managed GitLab, migrating project resources are not available by default. To make them available, ask an administrator to [enable the feature flag](../../../administration/feature_flags.md) named `bulk_import_projects`. On GitLab.com, migration of project resources is available.
The [`import_export.yml`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/blob/master/lib/gitlab/import_export/project/import_export.yml)
file for projects lists many of the items migrated when migrating projects using group migration. View this file in the branch
for your version of GitLab to see the list of items relevant to you. For example,
[`import_export.yml` on the `14-10-stable-ee` branch](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/blob/14-10-stable-ee/lib/gitlab/import_export/project/import_export.yml).
Migrating projects with file exports uses the same export and import mechanisms as creating projects from templates at the [group](../../group/custom_project_templates.md) and
[instance](../../admin_area/custom_project_templates.md) levels. Therefore, the list of exported items is the same.
If you attempt to import a group that has a path comprised of only numbers (for example, `5000`), GitLab attempts to find the group by ID instead of the
path. This causes a `404 Group Not Found` error. To solve this, the source group path must be changed to include a non-numerical character using either:
- The GitLab UI:
1. On the top bar, select **Main menu > Groups** and find your group.
1. On the left sidebar, select **Settings > General**.
1. Expand **Advanced**.
1. Under **Change group URL**, change the group URL to include non-numeric characters.
- The [Groups API](../../../api/groups.md#update-group).
