Germany

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, about 4 million Ukrainians and people of other nationalities resident in the country have been seeking refuge in European countries, according to the UN refugee agency. Among the refugees are Africans and Asians, many of whom are students, who are resident in Ukraine. Non-Ukrainians fleeing the war have …

A migrant’s personal story of return, resolution and resilience Tübingen – It’s a warm summer day in 2021. Musa Coker sits in the office of his return counsellor. He has visited the small office in Southwest Germany multiple times this year, seeking information, advice and counsel and discussing his return to The Gambia, his country of origin. Today, Musa will …

The Federal Ministry of the Interior and Home Affairs (BMI) has launched a portal to provide information and orientation support to people seeking refuge in Germany from fleeing the war in Ukraine. “Germany4Ukraine.de is an information service for refugees from Ukraine. It provides them with a trustworthy, secure, digital contact point with the most important initial information after their arrival …

"There is still a feeling that everything that's local is primitive"

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, speaking in the Bundestag (federal parliament) on Wednesday, said the registration of displaced persons from the war in Ukraine was currently being improved. Refugees who are admitted to initial reception centres are registered there. This should be further intensified, she said. As at Wednesday (16 March), the Federal Police had registered around 175,000 refugees from …

According to the information of Refugees4Refugees, a rights group, 34 Nigerians were deported to their home country on Tuesday (15 March). It was the first deportation carried out onboard a charter flight this year. The deportees, who were forcibly returned aboard an aircraft belonging to Iberojet to Lagos, are persons whose asylum claims had be rejected. Thirty of the 34 …

Germany has suffered defeat at the European Court of Justice over the detention of persons to be deported. The court ruled that would-be deportees should not be remanded in a place that could be described as a prison People who are to be deported may not be detained as if they were prisoners, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has …

Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior has published an edict on the temporary exemption of persons from Ukraine from the requirement of a residence permit due to the war in the country. The edict, dated 7 March 2022 and called Ukraine-Aufenthalts-Übergangsverordnung (Ukraine Transitional Residence Ordinance or UkraineAufenthÜV), allows Ukrainians and third country nationals resident in the country to enter and …

Federal Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, has assured that Germany will accept all refugees from Ukraine regardless of their nationality. “We want to save lives. That does not depend on passport,” Faeser told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag, referring to the increasing number of people coming to Germany from Ukraine. Faeser said that the vast majority of the refugees …

Every month, new laws and amendments to laws are introduced that affect everyday life in Germany. What will change in March 2022 in terms of Corona rules, gambling and consumer protection is revealed here. —– Relaxation of Corona Restrictions The federal and state governments agreed to gradually relax the regulations on contact and access restrictions in the month of March. …

Due to the decreasing incidence of the new coronavirus infections in Germany, the federal and state governments have agreed on a step-by-step plan to relax restrictive measures in force. After a meeting on Wednesday between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the premiers of the Laender, a three-step plan with the removal of the vast majority of restrictions which should bring Germany …

A new library in honour of Theodor Wonja Michael will be opened on Saturday 19 February in Cologne as part of activities marking this year’s Black History Month. The Theodor Wonja Michael Library was set up by the Afro-Diasporic association Sonnenblumen Community Development Group e. V. Michael, who died in October 2019 at the age of 94, was one of …

Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been re-elected for a second term as the President of Germany. The Federal Assembly confirmed the 66-year-old Social Democrat in Berlin on Sunday with a large majority. He will thus remain Germany’s head of state for another five years. After his re-election, Steinmeier gave a combative speech in which he emphasised the strength of democracy, condemned …

NIDO Germany has successfully participated in the pilot phase of a project to integrate the organisation and returning experts into the advisory structure of the Nigerian-German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration (NGC) on regular migration. The NGC, run by the GIZ and which operates in Abuja, Benin-City and Lagos, provides advisory services to prospective migrants as well as conducts …

Like at the beginning of every new month in Germany, new regulations come into force in February. These affect, among others, deadline for the submission of tax returns, validity of the EU vaccination certificate and new rules on hate online. Here’s overview of the most important changes: ——– Validity of EU vaccination certificates From 1 February, the validity of EU …

Africa is a huge market of the future! More and more German companies are becoming active in African countries. But how do they acquire the necessary know-how to successfully do business in the African market? That is exactly the focus of the 7th German-African Business Forum NRW, holding virtually on 16 February 2022. Under the motto “Africa Business 2022: global …

The German Development Cooperation here in Abuja, Nigeria, has a field of action called Business Ideas for Development. Their main aim is to support Nigerian professionals in Germany who are interested in starting a business in Nigeria

The minimum wage and Hartz IV rate will rise in the new year just as postage rates and the prices of petrol and diesel will go up. New regulations on plastic shopping bags and beverage cans and plastic bottles enter into effect as well. Here are some of the changes most likely to affect most people living in Germany —– …

Céphas Kosi Olatidoye Bansah, the Togbe Ngoryifia of the Hohoe Gbi Traditional Area, Ghana, has been living in Germany since 1970. After he was named chief of the 300,000-strong community of Ewe-speaking people in 1992, Bansah chose to continue living in Germany instead of returning home. The master agricultural machinery mechanic and master motor vehicle mechanic, who is better known …

In view of the high infection figures and the new coronavirus variant omicron, the federal states are again tightening their coronavirus pandemic containment rules. From 28 December, an upper limit of ten persons, usually aged 14 and over, will be in force in all federal states. This applies, for example, for private meetings at home or in public as well …