MIGRATION

Almost 20,000 people have marched through Berlin and Hamburg demanding that Germany take in more migrants stranded at sea. Sunday’s marches were organized in response to the violent anti-migrant protests in Chemnitz. Up to 16,000 people marched through the northern German city of Hamburg on Sunday, urging officials to open up the city’s ports to stranded migrant rescue ships in …

Protests by some residents in a Paris neighbourhood resulted in the postponement of the opening of a migrant reception centre for hundreds of migrants in the French capital. The Paris prefecture has postponed the opening of a migrant reception centre for hundreds of migrants in Paris in the arrondissement of Montmartre, after residents staged a protest. Residents said they were …

“For people wishing to study in Germany, it is not difficult to get a visa. It is easier than you think. It requires filing the details or you can just go to our website,” – Mr Bernhard Schlagheck, German Ambassador to Nigeria,  July 2017 ————————————————– One of the legal ways to migrate to Europe is to go there to study. …

A new phase of the campaign to raise public awareness on the dangers and risks of irregular migration in Nigeria by the Migration Enlightenment Project Nigeria (MEPN) has commenced. Round of dialogue with multipliers such as journalists, youth groups, women associations, students, artists and religious and traditional leaders, to hold in Abuja, Enugu, Lagos and Benin-City. Despite last October’s CNN …

Seven migrant transfer centres have begun operation in Bavaria. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer hopes to use them to bundle and accelerate asylum procedures.

A German government program aims to help migrants who choose to leave Germany voluntarily to find jobs and prospects in their home countries. But critics say the results of the program are little more than lip service. Daniel Pelz of Deutsche Welle (DW) reports. After four years, Derrick Adamson had had enough. He was living in Germany illegally, and without …

Germany’s federal cabinet wants to add three Maghreb states and Georgia to a list of “safe countries of origin.” But will the change pass Germany’s upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, where it failed last year? Timothy Jones and Jefferson Chase report. The German government will put forward legislation declaring Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Georgia “safe countries of origin.” The …

Thousands of people took part in demonstrations across Germany on Saturday to show their support for NGOs rescuing refugees in the Mediterranean Sea. NGOs have come under increasing political pressure and been blocked from docking in several European countries. Thousands of people took part in protests in several German cities, including Berlin, Hamburg, Hanover, Bremen, Munich and Ulm. Organizers said …

Italy has handed sea rescue mission responsibility to Libya’s coast guard in an effort to stop migrants reaching Europe. Critics argue the move violates international law and that Libyan authorities are ill-prepared. Bernd Riegert reports. At the recent EU summit one week ago, European leaders once again agreed to protect the bloc’s exterior borders from migrants entering illegally. That meant, …

The UN agency for migration IOM has reported that up to 10,000 migrants are detained in dire conditions in Libya. Over 10,000 migrants who were rescued or apprehended by Libyan coast guards are detained in 20 centres in extreme living conditions due to overcrowding and a heat wave with temperatures reaching over 40 degrees Celsius, Christine Petré, IOM’s spokeswoman for …

The Dortmund-based AfricanTide Union e.V. has opened its first branch office.  Since 15 June, there is now the opportunity to exchange and develop joint projects in the Gutruf Haus in the immediate vicinity of the Alster in Hamburg. “We are happy to be in Hamburg now. Together with local stakeholders, we want to implement our successfully tested programmes for promoting integration and …

The level of financial aid EU members provide to asylum-seekers can vary significantly from country to country. Germany, for instance, grants monthly allowances of up to €354. Diana Hodali and Astrid Prange of DW examine asylum benefits across the bloc. European Union asylum law stipulates that member states must ensure everyone in need is guaranteed a fair asylum application process. …

A poll by Oxfam Intermon said over 60 percent of Spaniards interviewed were in favour of migration while 20 percent thought they were being ”invaded” by migrants. Paola Del Vecchio reports. A survey released by Oxfam Intermon to mark World Refugee Day on Wednesday said 65 percent of Spaniards interviewed wanted to welcome refugees and migrants and 21 percent of …

EU leaders are set to endorse plans to create a so-called “disembarkation scheme” under which migrants rescued at sea would be taken to sites in North Africa where their requests for asylum would be processed. The EU is considering the creation of “disembarkation platforms” in North Africa to decide asylum applications before migrants set out for Europe, according to a draft statement …

After more than a week at sea, hundreds of migrants turned away by Italy danced and sang as their ships arrived in the Spanish port of Valencia on Sunday. The migrant rescue boat Aquarius arrived in Spain Sunday with 106 migrants on board. Spain swooped to offer safe harbour to a convoy of boats, carrying a total of 629 rescued …

After serving just 18 months as head of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), Jutta Cordt was fired on Friday by Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, after an internal review discovered that the agency’s branch in the city of Bremen had violated legal and internal regulations for the approval of asylum applications. In April, it was revealed that a …

Nigerian asylum seekers in Germany seem to find it easier than other African refugees to integrate into the labour market, a survey found. Sonia Piotie Yakap of Deutsche Welle (DW) reports. The latest monthly report on the integration of migrants in the German labour market, issued by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), which is affiliated to the German Employment …

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 …

“Germany said it has about 25,000 to 30,000 Nigerians seeking asylum and they can’t guarantee they will get it. So, there is every possibility that they will be returned to Nigeria,” Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to President Muhammadu Buhari on Diaspora and Foreign Affairs, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has said. She spoke at a program; “Developing a mixed migration strategy for …

Radu Mazare is one of more than 3 million Romanians who work outside the country. But he’s a little different to most of them. He first started to visit the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar as an alternative to his usual holiday destination of Brazil. “I felt amazing from the first visit back in 2011,” he told Euronews. When he …