LIVING IN GERMANY

Every month there are new laws and other legal changes. June 2021 is no different. Whether it’s about the coronavirus vaccination, VAT increase, government subsidies for businesses and self-employed persons, the digital vaccination certificate, your Microsoft account or even travelling with the ICE, we have all the important changes for you here: Prioritisation for vaccinationFrom 7 June, there will no …

It has been observed that Africans are less likely to start their own businesses compared to other diaspora communities, such as Asians. A new initiative wants to change the situation by mentoring aspiring African entrepreneurs in Germany, providing them not only knowledge and skills training but also networking opportunities Deutsch Connect, a German-based Afrocentric startup that links African businesses to …

One year after the police killing of George Floyd, sparking worldwide protests against racist violence, the spokesman of the Initiative Black People in Germany accuses German authorities and politicians of neglecting racist police violence in the country. Speaking in an interview on Deutschlandfunk radio on Tuesday, Tahir Della complaint about the concealment of racist police violence in Germany. Police violence …

The commission set up by the federal government to look into the causes of flight and irregular migration has presented its report, recommending 15 key measures for the effective mitigation of these causes. —– An Expert Commission on the Causes of Flight appointed by the Federal Government in July 2019 has called for a more comprehensive political approach to combating …

For the fourth time the MEDIENDIENST INTEGRATION conducted a research on diversity in the German police forces. Over the past years an increasing number of young people with an immigration background joined the police – partly due to successful recruitment-campaigns. By Fabio Ghelli Among the 46.500 employees of the German Federal Police (Bundespolizei) only 1,600 declare to have an immigration …

German-based Afrocentric startup Deutsch Connect has secured a €100,000 investment fund in partnership with Idea Seed Africa. The “Deutsch – Africa Pitch” challenge is exclusively for Startups within the Deutsch Connect – Idea Seed Africa network in Agritech, Healthtech, Fintech, Digitalisation and Logistics offering up to €100,000 in equity investment to build and scale successful businesses that add value to …

New entry regulations that make life easier for travellers entered into force on Thursday. The new regulation is the most far-reaching relaxation of rules for arriving passengers since the beginning of the pandemic in Germany last year. The federal cabinet passed the new rules, which are also intended to standardise the regulations of individual federal states and make travelling within …

The term “race” will remain in the Basic Law for the time being. The plan to delete the controversial word from the German constitution is being blocked by the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Federal Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) announced in Berlin on Monday. Contrary to initial plans, the federal cabinet should have approved the deletion on Wednesday, but it was …

A German privacy regulator banned Facebook on Tuesday from gathering data on WhatsApp users, citing an update to its privacy policy that breaches EU data protection rules by allowing access to a lot more information on the messenger app’s users. The Hamburg data protection officer (Landesdatenschutzbeauftragter), Johannes Caspar, wants to ensure by order that no data from the chat service …

An alliance of humanitarian and rights organisations are calling for the abrogation of the legal obligation to report people without residency status who seek medical care —– Almost 50 organisations and associations are demanding the abolition of the legal obligation to report people without regular residence status who seek medical care. Going to the doctor without fear is not possible …

As from Sunday, the Corona restrictions for fully vaccinated and recovered people will be relaxed. After the Bundestag, the Bundesrat has also approved the new regulation. Here’s an overview of the new regulation. ——— The Bundesrat, the upper house of the federal parliament, on Friday approved a new regulation of the Federal Government that contains relaxations of protective measures against …

Like at the beginning of every month, new legal changes enter into effect in May 2021. Among these are a one-time supplement to the child benefit, more protection for minors online, increased wages for painters, new labelling rules for tyres and new terms and conditions for WhatsApp users. Femi Awoniyi reports ——— 150-euro extra child bonus The disruptions of normal …

The so-called rent cap has been in force in Berlin for more than a year. Now the Federal Constitutional Court Bundesverfassungsgericht has overturned the controversial law causing apprehensions for tenants in Germany’s biggest city The Federal Constitutional Court has declared Berlin’s rent cap null and void. According to the decision of the Karlsruhe-based highest court on constitutional matters, Berlin was …

Most people carry their identity card (Personalausweis) in their wallet at all times. After all, it is an identity document that must be shown both when demanded by the police and when collecting items from the post office or making payments by credit card. But does this also mean that you must always carry the ID with you? In Germany, …

Integration Senator Breitenbach wants people with a migration background to be better represented in the civil service. She proposes a migrant quota of 35 per cent in public administration. ———- Berlin’s Integration Senator Elke Breitenbach, a member of the Left party, wants more people with a migration background to work in the civil service. A new draft law provides for …

ZDF will broadcast the new documentary film König Bansah und seine Tochter (King Bansah and his daughter) on 29 March. The film takes viewers to Ludwigshafen, where Togbui Ngoryifia Kosi Olatidoye Céphas Bansah lives and runs a car repair workshop, and on a journey to Africa, where he’s a chief who is active in the development of his community. König …

A coronavirus test for air travellers before returning to Germany by plane became mandatory on 29 March. “Testing prior to departure will reduce the likelihood that infected persons will travel and infect others during the flight or cause an additional entry of SARS-CoV-2 infections into Germany,” the federal ministry of health had announced. Previously, only travellers from high-risk areas were …

Chancellor Angela Merkel and state and civic leaders have finalised a plan to improve the integration of immigrants into society, the education system and the job market. It outlines a road map for the coming decade. Kathleen Schuster/DW reports Getting a job might have been once been considered enough to be successfully integrated into society as a foreigner. For Germany, …

Follow the rules, work with us, His Excellency Thomas Amolo appeals to Kenyans in Germany The African Courier interviewed Kenya’s new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Germany, His Excellency Thomas Boniface Amolo, after he presented his Letter of Credence to President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin on Thursday, 11 March. In the exclusive chat, Ambassador Amolo, who is also concurrently accredited …

Germany’s population of African descent is estimated at over a million. A big community which needs to communicate with itself as well as with others. Sam Atsu Nove, who died on 9 March 2020, was the pioneer networker of the Black community in Germany.His observation of the difficulties of Africans navigating their community challenged the communications specialist to publish the …