SEEKING ASYLUM IN GERMANY

Bavarian State Premier Markus Söder has unveiled new measures to speed up the asylum process and deport rejected applicants. He believes the rest of Germany should follow his lead. With Bavaria’s elections only a few months away, State Premier Markus Söder of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), is advocating a tougher stance on asylum-seekers. The CSU, which has traditionally dominated …

The German Federal Office for Migration and Asylum (BAMF) will re-examine some 18,000 cases in which refugees were granted asylum in Germany, the agency’s director, Jutta Cordt, has announced. The inspection will cover all successful asylum applications filed as far back as 2000, she added while addressing a press conference on Friday. The measure will be applied to all asylum …

 Germany has put forward a new proposal for the repatriation of some 30,000 undocumented Nigerian migrants to their home country. Dr Jan Hecker, foreign policy adviser to Chancellor Angela Merkel, visited Abuja last week to hold talks with Nigerian officials on the deportation plan. In an exclusive interview with the German international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle (DW), Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama …

Germany granted residence permit to some 35,000 Eritrean refugees last year. This entitles them to bring their families over. But not all are successful. Daniel Pelz of Deutsche Welle (DW) reports on the reasons for this. With its population of around five million, Eritrea is one of the main countries of origin of African refugees. Young people especially are among …

The German Cabinet has approved legislation allowing refugees with subsidiary protection status to bring their direct relatives to Germany. Critics say that the bill breaches human rights, and that it will force more migrants to put their fate in the hands of people-smugglers. Marion MacGregor of Deutsche Welle (DW) reports. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Cabinet on Wednesday voted to resettle …

German officials say 12,285 people applied for asylum in the country in January. That is a 15 percent drop compared with the same month last year. In January 2017, Germany recorded 14,476 new asylum requests, while some 13,082 people applied for asylum in December 2017. Figures published by the Interior Ministry on Tuesday show most new asylum-seekers last month originated …

Displaced people have a hard time finding employment. Five hundred thousand refugees are currently on the job market — and prospects look bleak. A Munich startup has founded a non-profit temporary work agency. Temporary work employment refers to an employment situation where the working arrangement is limited to a certain period of time based on the needs of the employing organization.  …

186,644 asylum seekers were registered last year. That’s more than 100,000 down from the 2016 figures – the Germany Interior Ministry says the massive numbers from the height of the crisis have been “overcome.” German Interior Minister Lothar de Maizière announced the figures in Berlin on Tuesday (16 January) showed that the waves of refugees arriving in Germany continue to …

Latest figures show an overall fall in the number of new asylum requests in the EU, compared to 2015 and 2016. Asylum is a form of international protection given by a state on its territory. It is granted to a person who is unable to seek protection in his/her country of citizenship and/or residence, in particular for fear of being …

The Federal Statistical Office has revealed that 2 percent of the people who lived in Germany at the end of 2016 had lodged asylum applications. That’s more than double the figure for 2014. Ben Knight reports. On Friday, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) revealed that 1.6 million people were officially registered as “seeking protection for humanitarian reasons” in Germany at …

What happens when officials refuse an applicant’s request for asylum? In Germany, applicants have recourse to administrative courts and can even approach the European Court of Human Rights. Here is a short explanation. Types of rejection The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees or BAMF can reject applications for asylum if its officials believe that the individual concerned does not …

Success rates for asylum applications in Germany vary widely from state to state, according to a new report by Funke Mediengruppe. But the varying rates raise questions over how Germany processes asylum requests. Iraqis much more likely to get asylum in Bremen than in Berlin, official figures show. For example, the protection rate for Iraqi refugees in Bremen during the …

Who orders and who carries out deportations? And why do some people who get told to leave get to stay anyway? Jefferson Chase of Deutsche Welle (DW) untangles Germany’s complex and multilayered rules about who can be deported under what circumstances. ———————— Who decides whether someone should be deported? You might think that would be the task of the Federal Ministry of …

A battery of new technological innovations has been unveiled by Germany’s refugee agency to help it determine more accurately the country of origin of asylum seekers and detect those who make multiple applications using different names. Jefferson Chase reports. No more Franco A.’s – that’s the motto at the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge …

The number of cases filed by asylum seekers challenging the decisions of immigration authorities in German courts has brought the legal system to the brink of collapse, a top German judge has warned in an interview. The sheer number of cases filed has overwhelmed the civil courts of the country, said Robert Seegmuller, chairman of the Association of German Administrative …

Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge or BAMF) has issued a warning to asylum-seekers in the country to beware of dupers who may call them to demand money for a favourable result on their asylum request or to prevent their deportation. “The Federal Office has been informed that persons are being threatened again by …

The German parliament has passed legislation to tighten the country’s asylum laws, making it easier to deport failed asylum-seekers and monitor those deemed dangerous to public security in a move that has been slammed by opposition parties and rights groups as an assault on the rights of refugees. These are the new regulations in the legislation passed by the federal …

In a bid to increase the number of asylum-seekers choosing to leave Germany voluntarily, the country’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) and the International Organisation for Migration on Thursday (11 May) launched www.returningfromgermany.de, a new online portal providing information for those interested in voluntarily returning to their home country. ReturningFromGermany.de expands on a similar scheme that started in …

The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge or BAMF) has set up telephone counselling service for refugees and asylum-seekers who are willing to voluntarily return to their home countries. The call centre service is offered in English and German. According to the BAMF, asylum-seekers, refugee aid organisations, public institutions and volunteers can use the counselling …

It’s always easier and more convenient to enjoy a new country when you have a tour guide. You hardly miss your way going around since you are led by an experienced person who knows the nooks and crannies of the place. This is exactly what an association of journalists called “Neue deutsche Medienmacher” (New German Media Professionals) would like to …