Germany: Law & Society

Samuel Kofi Yeboah died in an arson attack on a hostel for asylum-seekers in September 1991. Thirty-two years after the tragic event in Saarlouis, a 50-year-old German national, identified as Peter S., was convicted on Monday for setting the house on fire and was thus responsible for the death of the Ghanaian man. The culprit, a former neo-Nazi thug who …

Like almost every month, October 2023 brings some important changes for people living in Germany. Among other things, state elections will be held in Bavaria and Hesse, Deutsche Bahn to introduce new rules for selling discounted tickets and there are deadlines to submit final accounting report of the Corona Aid and to apply for heating cost subsidy. More on these …

The governing federal coalition has passed a bill to reform Germany’s citizenship law. The bill, which was approved by the cabinet on Wednesday, provides for the simplification of naturalisation. On the other hand, the government wants to make it more difficult for persons who cannot support themselves or who have already committed criminal offences in Germany to naturalise. Among the …

Like almost every month, August 2023 also brings some important changes for people living in Germany. In addition to new laws, there will be a number of changes will come into force. These include an increase in the minimum wage in the cash-in-transit industry, the introduction of an innovative apprenticeship and the deadline for filing the 2021 tax return. Here …

Like almost every month, July 2023 also brings some important changes for people living in Germany. This is because new laws and regulations will come into force which may have an impact on your everyday life. Here are the major changes that will enter into effect in the new month: —— Abolition of the Maestro function on giro cards From …

Germany’s federal parliament, the Bundestag, has passed a bill to reform the Skilled Workers Immigration Act into law. The MPs of the federal governing coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP voted almost unanimously in favour of the draft law on Friday. The opposition parties, the CDU/CSU and the far-right AfD, voted against the bill while the left-leaning Linke abstained. The …

Like almost every month, June 2023 brings some important changes for people living in Germany. Find out here which concrete changes, including new laws, are coming and what you have to prepare for. —— Refunds for rail delays to become more complicatedOn 7 June, a new EU passenger rights regulation will come into force by law. Consumer advocates criticise that …

Like almost every month, April 2023 brings some important changes for people living in Germany. Most are positive changes but there are also some inconveniences for rail passengers. Among other things, the advance sale of the much-awaited 49-Euro-Ticket will commence, the few remaining COVID-19 rules will expire, more pay for temporary workers and some routes of the Deutsche Bahn will …

Despite an illegal deportation to his home country, a former asylum-seeker from the Democratic Republic of Congo is not entitled to be brought back to Germany. This is the decision of the Administrative Court of Düsseldorf, which rejected an urgent application by the man. A repatriation of the asylum-seeker to Germany would not make sense because the man had no …

Like almost every new month, February 2023 brings some important changes, including new laws, for people living in Germany. For example, no more compulsory masks on long-distance trains, more drinking fountains in public spaces and 16-year olds will also be allowed to vote in the European Parliament elections in Germany in future. These and other regulations come into force in …

2023 brings new laws and regulations for people living in Germany. For example, price brakes are to reduce energy costs, health insurance will become more expensive and the 49-euro ticket will be launched. These and other changes at a glance. ——– Price brakes for electricity, gas and district heatingFrom 1 March – retroactive to 1 January – the Federal Government’s …

The citizen’s income (Bürgergeld) will be introduced in Germany in January. The Bundesrat, the upper house of the federal parliament, approved the social reform legislation on 25 November after the lower house, the Bundestag, had earlier passed it. The Bürgergeld, which will replace the basic income support for job-seekers (Hartz IV) that was introduced in 2005, is a basic allowance …

The German parliament, the Bundestag, passed amendments to the residence and asylum laws on 4 December. The governing coalition calls the two laws passed the first phase of its plans to reform the country’s migration laws. One of the new laws, named “opportunity for right to stay” (Chancen-Aufenthaltsrecht), which enters into force on 1 January 2023, provides for the grant …

The year 2022 is drawing to a close, but it still brings some changes with it in December. Among other things, gas and district heating customers will receive relief payments, the winter timetable of Deutsche Bahn will commence and the ban on fire crackers ends. Here’s an overview of new laws and regulations that will come into force. —— More …

According to a ruling of Germany’s highest court on constitutional matters, the reduction of benefits for single adult asylum-seekers in group accommodation facilities is unconstitutional. The regulation, according to which asylum-seekers living in group accommodation receive ten per cent less benefits than refugees living in flats, violates the basic right to be guaranteed a minimum subsistence level worthy of human …

Like every month, November 2022 brings some important changes for people living in Germany. Here’s an overview of what the new month brings —– Sales tax on gas reduced Rising energy prices have already become a major burden for many citizens. For this reason, the federal government is temporarily reducing the VAT rate on the supply of gas. This will …

Like every month, October 2022 brings some important changes for people living in Germany. For example, the minimum wage will rise to twelve euros, the value-added tax on gas will go down and new COVID-19 rules enter into force, among other new laws and regulations. Here’s an overview of what will change in the new month ———— Minimum wage rises …

A naturalised supporter of the terror organisation IS can have his German passport revoked if he already was involved in behaviour that is against the free, democratic order of Germany when he was naturalised. This was the decision of a Higher Administrative Court. The court thus approved the decision of the district of Euskirchen to revoke the naturalisation of a …

Some pandemic-related special regulations expire in September while people in paid employment can look forward to receiving the flat-rate energy allowance. Other changes affect e-prescriptions, food ordered online, the number of COVID-19 vaccination doses required for the ‘fully vaccinated status’ and refugees from Ukraine, among others •••• Corona protection measures expire, new ones are coming The Corona protection measures in …

The threatened deportation of a 3-person Vietnamese family is causing protest as the man has lived in Germany since 1987 A Vietnamese man, who has been living in Germany for 35 years, is to be deported together with his wife and five-year-old daughter. The case is causing outrage in the eastern German state of Saxony. Here’s the unusual story: The …