MIGRATION

The Trump administration has issued a new rule  instructing United States consular officials to deny pregnant women visas unless they can prove “to the satisfaction of the consular officer” either that they are not traveling to the US to give birth, or that they have a legitimate medical reason to give birth in the country. In the latest immigration control measure, the United …

According to new figures released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the population of the country stood at 83.2 million at the end of 2019 – 200,000 more than a year earlier. The population figure represents a new high, Destatis said even though the population growth was much smaller than in the years 2013 to 2018. The agency also revealed …

A new law (Skilled Worker Immigration Act or Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz) that facilitates the recruitment of skilled workers from non-EU countries will enter into effect on 1 March. Germany is currently suffering from labour shortages in many sectors, including health care. Caritas has however warned that the needs of the countries where nurses would be recruited should be considered in the implementation …

Germany plans to deport more Nigerians this year, according to a new report by the international broadcaster Deutsche Welle or DW. The government says there’re about 12,000 Nigerians in the country whose asylum applications have been rejected and have been asked to leave the country. Moreover, more than 20,000 cases filed by Nigerians are yet to be concluded. Going by …

Journalists in the European Union and Switzerland can enter a contest on migration, integration, diversity and democratic culture. The CIVIS Media Foundation is looking for the best programmes focusing on the issues of migration, integration and cultural diversity in Europe  Radio, film, television and online stories are eligible for the CIVIS Media Prize. The categories are the CIVIS Top Award, …

The Berlin Ausländerbehörde (Berlin Foreigners’ Registration Office) became the Landesamt für Einwanderung (“State Office for Immigration”) on 1 January 2020.  Berlin became the first German state to establish an independent agency for immigrants in anticipation of the new Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz (Skilled Labour Immigration Act), which goes into effect in March. For the director of the State Office for Immigration, the new …

Germany’s federal police chief said a lack of pre-deportation facilities is hampering the deportation of rejected asylum seekers and illegal foreigners to third-countries. Germany is struggling to deport rejected asylu-seekers, the country’s top police chief said on Wednesday. Federal police chief Dieter Romann blamed a lack of pre-deportation facilities for deportations not being carried out. Speaking to Germany’s Funke media group, he said …

The Embassy of Nigerian in Germany has denied issuing travel documents indiscriminately for the deportation of failed Nigerian asylum-seekers from the country. Alhaji Mohammed Bello Musa Anka, Minister for Consular & Immigration, explained that before an Emergency Travel Certificate (ETC) is issued the recipient must have been interviewed by officials of the embassy to ascertain that they’re indeed Nigerians and …

Edo State Commissioner of Local Government and Community Affairs, Hon. Monday Osaigbovo, recently paid a courtesy call on Nigeria’s Ambassador to Germany, HE Alhaji Maitama Tuggar, in his office in Berlin. Mr Osaigbovo was accompanied on the visit by Barrister Efosa Ogieriakhi, president of Edo in Diaspora Worldwide, Mr Austin Imade, Director of Edo Cultural Festival Germany, and several other …

Thousands of asylum-seekers in Germany have returned multiple times after deportation, according to a report in the German media. Those with entry bans often serve a few months in jail or are not arrested at all.

“Yet these bright, ambitious young people share a perception that opportunities to fulfil their aspirations at home are closed. This perception is held so profoundly that it has driven many to reject their known circumstances in favour of a potentially perilous and irregular journey to an unknown future in Europe.”

Last year, Nigeria was one of the main countries of origin of asylum-seekers in Germany. Against this background, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung invited German and Nigerian officials to a technical roundtable discussion in Berlin on Thursday. Among others, the experts discussed how to make rejected Nigerian asylum-seekers leave Germany voluntarily and explore possible solutions to irregular migration from their country. Femi Awoniyi, …

"There are massive deficiencies at certain locations, which results in asylum applications being rejected in large numbers ... all those seeking protection must find equal opportunities throughout Germany."

Around 56 per cent of the migrants were deported by scheduled airlines, 32 per cent by charter flights, the rest by..

“Many of the deportees roam about in Lagos and are homeless because no provisions had been made by the Germans or our own government for their dignified reception”

Migrants with a good command of German language have the same opportunities on the German labour market as natives. This is the result of a study conducted by the Cologne-based Institute of German Business. With the same level of education and good German language proficiency, migrants, according to a new study, equally earn high wages as natives. Accordingly, higher levels …

More than 1,000 migrants and refugees have died in the dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean since the beginning of the year, according to the UN. This will be the sixth year in a row with more than 1,000 deaths in the Mediterranean in a year, said the UN International Organization for Migration on Tuesday in Geneva. Since 2014, at least …

Applicants for US visas will be denied entry into the country unless they can prove they can afford health care within 30 days of entering, according to a proclamation signed Friday by President Donald Trump. The new rule, which comes into force on 3 November, applies to people seeking immigrant visas from abroad — not those in the US already. …

“This new knowledge of which initiatives help refugees into work is important. When we find integration efforts that work, we need to share them. This adds value to the efforts of the national authorities, and ultimately benefits the individual refugee.”

Twenty-two Ghanaians have been deported from Germany and the United Kingdom for immigration-related issues such as overstaying their entry permit and illegal stay in both countries.  Seventeen Ghanaians deported from Germany arrived on a chartered flight CT3721 at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) on 18 September, the Regional Command of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has disclosed.  The deportees all males aged …