Germany

The Embassy of Ghana in Berlin has suspended all activities in its consular section for the next 14 days because of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. According to a statement issued by the Embassy on Tuesday, the suspension commences on 18 March. Full consular services are expected to be resumed on 1 April. The Nigerian and Ugandan embassies in Berlin …

The Uganda Embassy in Berlin has announced that it is henceforth closed to the public until the 1 April. However, the Embassy will be reachable by phone during the shutdown. The decision was taken due to the ongoing corona crisis to protect the Embassy’s staff and visitors.  The Embassy said in the statement: “The Uganda Embassy in Berlin will remain closed to …

The federal and state governments have adopted several drastic measures to slow down the increasing infection rate of coronavirus (Covid-19) in the country. The measures order unprecedented restrictions on public life in the country. In a national TV address on Monday evening, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the federal government and the governments of the 16 federal states have agreed to …

Last year, far more right-wing extremist and racist attacks were registered in Berlin. A new central office to prevent and respond to hate crimes in the federal capital The number of right-wing extremist and racist attacks in Berlin continued to increase in the past year. A total of 390 attacks were registered, as the victim advisory centre Reach Out announced …

According to a ruling by the Osnabrück Social Court (Sozialgericht), asylum-seekers can have their cash benefits cut if they have already applied for asylum in another EU country Cities and counties may reduce cash benefits to an asylum-seeker according to a ruling by the Osnabrück Social Court if they have already applied for asylum in another country. The court in …

A book about the migration experience of a young African shows how the search for the Golden Fleece could end in disaster Illegal in Berlin is the story of Tony, a 26-year-old university educated man, who leaves his native Nigeria, abandoning a job as an engineer with an oil company, to seek the realisation of his dream of a better …

This is a book with the express intention of examining German culture through the eyes of foreign residents. If it was to be authentic and representative, it would have to involve people who had settled, lived, worked and experienced life in Germany in all its possible variations. It would have to talk about how they perceive their new country and …

The Embassy of Nigeria in Berlin has announced the suspension of its consular services. A statement published on the website of the embassy reads, “This is to inform the general public that all Consular Services of the Embassy will be temporarily suspended for two weeks from Monday, 09.03.2020 to Sunday, 22.03.2020. “The temporary closure of the Consular Section is to …

The Measles Protection Act (Masernschutzgesetz) entered into force on 1 March. The law, which was passed on 14 November 2019, is intended to provide school, kindergarten and day care children with better protection against measles. From the beginning of March, parents who want to have their child or ward admitted to a day care centre, kindergarten, school or other communal …

The 11th Federal Government Integration Summit took place on Monday at the office of the federal chancellor in Berlin. Since 2006, representatives from the worlds of politics, business, education and civil society have been meeting regularly at the summits to discuss key integration policy issues. Chancellor Merkel used the event this year to kick off a long overdue debate on …

The Embassy of Ghana in Germany has cancelled the official celebrations of the country’s 63rd independence celebrations originally scheduled for 6 March in Berlin. The Embassy on Tuesday sent out a notice of cancellation to guests invited to the event. In the notice, signed by Mr Louis Obeng, Head of Chancery, the Embassy wrote: “Following confirmation of some coronavirus cases …

Protesters turned out in Hamburg on Saturday (29 February), the last day of Black History Month, at a public demonstration against the controversial court decision legitimising the use of the derogatory word “neger” (subsequently referred to as the N-word in this report) to describe people of African descent in Germany. The state constitutional court of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania had ruled on …

March 2020 brings some changes for people living in Germany as a result of new or amended laws and regulations. Some of these changes include mandatory measles vaccination for children, introduction of repeat doctor’s prescriptions, the prohibition of speed camera warning app on your smartphone and easier immigration for skilled workers from non-EU countries, among others.

The mass murder in Hanau, a small town near Frankfurt, where on Wednesday a 43-year-old German man gunned down nine people at shisha bars, is the latest albeit most shocking incident in the increasing racist violence in the country. The murderer, identified as Tobias R, also shot his mother before killing himself. “On the suspected perpetrator’s home page, he had …

The Ambassador of the Republic of Ghana to Germany, HE Gina Ama Blay, opened her country’s new honorary consulate for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) in Dortmund on Tuesday, 18 February. The consulate is located in the building housing the headquarters of Auslandsgesellschaft – a German organisation that promotes international understanding. The president of Auslandsgesellschaft, Klaus Wegener, represents Ghana …

The Embassy of Nigeria to Germany has called on applicants who had scheduled appointments for the issuance of passport to reconfirm their appointments with the mission. A statement, dated 13 February 2020, signed by the Head of Chancery, Mrs Foluke Atanda, said: “I am directed to inform that the Embassy of Nigeria, Berlin, is upgrading its appointment scheduling portal for …

Foreigners who are in Germany to look for work or study are excluded from Hartz IV social-security benefits, the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) has ruled in two cases. In the two verdicts published on Thursday (6 February), the Bundesverfassungsgericht, Germany’s highest court on constitutional matters, dismissed the ruling of the lower Social Court (Sozialgericht), which considers the legal exclusion of …

 The Union of Ghanaian Associations in Germany (UGAG) elected a new National Executive Committee at its recent bi-annual conference held in Kassel. The conference, attended by representatives of local Ghanaian associations from all over Germany, chose the following 7-member National Executive Committee officials: Mr. Akwasi Opoku Edusei – President; Mr. Alexander Okai Anane – Vice-president; Mr. Aaron Hooper – General Secretary; Mr. Paul …

Berlin’s state parliament has passed a law to freeze rent prices in the capital for five years. The legislators by their decision on Thursday (30 January) cleared the final legal hurdle to the Berlin rent cap initiative. The Senate of Berlin, the executive body governing the city that is also a federal state, had on 22 October approved the rent-freeze …

February brings some changes for people living in Germany as a result of new or amended laws and regulations. Some of these changes have an impact on the pockets of consumers. Here is an overview of the important changes from 1 February 2020, by Sola Jolaoso Cheaper BahnCard 25 and 50 As part of its “Klimapaket” (climate-protection package of policies), …