Fifty-three migrants, mostly sub-Saharan Africans, were killed on Wednesday when a faction in the Libyan civil war carried out an air strike that hit a migrant detention centre near Tripoli. More than 130 others were injured. The internationally-recognised Government of National Unity (GNA) blamed the attack on forces loyal to renegade General Khalifa Haftar, but his militants have denied it. …
Read More »Italian court frees Sea-Watch captain
Carola Rackete, the 31-year-old German captain of a migrant rescue vessel Sea-Watch 3, has been freed. She was detained in Italy after refusing to stand down in the face of military orders. Italy had banned the Sea-Watch ship from entering its waters. Italian judge Alessandra Vella on Tuesday ruled that the Sea-Watch captain had not acted against the law when …
Read More »Migrant rescue vessel Sea-Watch 3: What you need to know
The weeks-long standoff between Sea-Watch 3 and the Italian government ended with the arrest of Captain Carola Rackete, who has now been freed. But international maritime law and a country’s own laws often don’t chime, say experts. Carola Rackete, captain of the search and rescue vessel Sea-Watch 3, was arrested on Saturday by Italian authorities for “resisting a warship” after …
Read More »Explainer: How refugees can apply for admission to German universities
For refugees and migrants seeking to access higher education in Germany, there are two major obstacles: The recognition of diplomas and other official certificates as well as the tedious process of assembling all documents required to apply. Benjamin Bathke of InfoMigrants takes an in-depth look at the admission process, required documents, application fees and more. In Germany, according to estimates …
Read More »Cameroonian migrants stuck in Cyprus after buying ‘smuggle package’ to Italy
In the past few months, smugglers seem to have established a new clandestine route to bring African migrants to Europe. An increasing number of Cameroonians now find themselves ‘trapped’ in Cyprus after being sold a ‘smuggle package’ to Italy. Although Syrians still top the list of asylum seekers in Cyprus, Cameroonians are quickly catching up, and a growing number of …
Read More »Asylum figures in the EU down to pre-2015 levels
The European Union’s statistical office, Eurostat, and the European Asylum Support Office, EASO, have released their latest figures on asylum for 2018. Overall, the total number of asylum applicants decreased by over 50 per cent compared to figures from 2015. Germany welcomed the highest number of asylum-seekers, followed by France, then Greece, Spain and Italy. Although the number of refugees …
Read More »German bureaucracy keeps refugees stuck in temporary jobs, report finds
A new study has found that although many refugees find work, most are in temporary jobs. Researchers say that bureaucratic hurdles are just as much a hindrance as personal shortcomings. Refugees may be able to find work in Germany, but they tend to find it in low-paying temporary jobs rather than truly integrating themselves into the national labour market, according …
Read More »IOM, EU facilitate return of 14,036 Nigerians from Libya, France, other countries
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Friday said a total of 14,036 Nigerians have voluntarily returned home under the Assisted Voluntary Returnees Programme which began in April 2017. The Nigerians, who were stranded in Libya, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ireland, France, Gambia, Austria, Poland, Morocco and Liberia, were brought back by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European …
Read More »Families of missing migrants stuck in uncertainty
Thousands of people lost in crossing the Central Mediterranean have not been identified. New figures from the UN migration agency, IOM, show that the remains of more than two thirds of those whose deaths have been recorded have never been recovered. The IOM’s Missing Migrants Project database has recorded more than 15,000 deaths on the sea route between North Africa …
Read More »Over 70 million people forcibly displaced worldwide – new UN report
For the first time in history, over 70 million people worldwide have been displaced, according to a report just released by the UN refugee agency. Where do these people come from – and where are they going? We summed up all you need to know about the latest UNHCR report. Every year, the UN refugee agency UNHCR releases a report …
Read More »EU admits 32,700 African refugees, others through resettlement program
The EU has welcomed 32,700 refugees from Africa and the Middle East through its resettlement program, the EU Commissioner for Refugees, Dimitris Avramopoulos, has announced. The program was launched in September 2017 to assist refugees in need of special protection, as well as to prevent the need for a dangerous trip across the Mediterranean Sea. Avramopoulos told the Funke Media …
Read More »Germany opens new doors for legal immigration
The Federal Parliament has passed two laws to regulate immigration from non-EU countries into Germany. One of the laws provides more opportunities for people to come to Germany to work and receive training while another amends the regulations affecting asylum-seekers. In a major step to modernise and liberalise its immigration system, the German parliament (Bundestag) passed into law a bill …
Read More »EU restricts visas for countries that don’t take back rejected asylum-seekers
The European Union on Thursday announced plans to tie the issuing of visas to the willingness of third countries to take back their nationals whose asylum applications have been rejected by member states of the bloc.
Read More »Germany issues highest number of Blue Cards in the EU
Seven years after the introduction of the EU Blue Card, Germany has awarded 104,000 such residence permits to highly-skilled non-EU immigrants. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said in Nuremberg on Tuesday that about 27,000 visas were issued in 2018, a 25.4% jump over 2017, and more than any previous year. 11,738 of the Cards issued in 2018 were …
Read More »Integration Courses in Germany: What You Need to Know
Migrants in Germany are expected to learn the language and become familiar with the country’s history, culture and legal system. That’s where integration courses come in. But what exactly are these courses, who can participate, and how many people are taking part? Benjamin Bathke reports. According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) statistics, more than one million …
Read More »Language tests keep 1 in 3 foreign spouses from joining loved ones in Germany
One in three foreigners seeking to join a spouse in Germany is unable to do so because they fail to pass a basic language test. The failure rate was especially high for applicants from Iraq. Nearly a third of foreigners seeking to join their spouses in Germany fail to pass a German language test in their homeland, preventing them from …
Read More »Malta finally allows 49 migrants on rescue ships to disembark, to redistribute to EU countries
Malta allowed the 49 migrants stranded on two humanitarian rescue ships since last month to disembark at its port on Wednesday. The Sea-Watch 3 ship, which is run by a German humanitarian group, picked up 32 people from a boat off the coast of Libya on December 22. Another German-run organisation, Sea-Eye, rescued 17 others a couple of days later …
Read More »German NGOs’ migrant rescue boats still stuck at sea, 17 days on
After 17 days in the Mediterranean Sea and battered by winter storms, the two NGO rescue boats stranded close to Malta’s shores with 49 rescued migrants on board are still waiting for permission to berth at a European port. One of the ships has received supplies and support. International voices to resolve the humanitarian crisis are getting louder. Benjamin Bathke …
Read More »New in Switzerland! Renewal of residence permit now conditional on integration performance
Various new or tweaked Swiss laws, governing a range of issues from foreigners to online shopping, entered into force on 1 January. One of them affects the Foreigner’s law. Foreigners living in Switzerland now have to meet certain criteria of good behaviour, for example respect for public security and order and constitutional values, before their residence permits are granted or …
Read More »Book: How colonisation drives today’s African migration to Europe
As I write this article, 49 migrants, mostly Africans, are stranded at sea. They had been rescued in the Mediterranean by the humanitarian organisation Sea Watch about two weeks ago but no European country is ready to allow the migrants to disembark at its port. Last year, about 112,000 migrants found their way irregularly through the Mediterranean to Europe while …
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