Migration & Integration

Ukraine refugees receive Hartz IV instead of asylum aid as from June

Ukrainian refugees are entitled to regular social benefits as from 1 June, according to a law passed the Bundesrat, the upper chamber of the German federal parliament —— Refugees from Ukraine will be entitled to regular social benefits such as Hartz IV from June onwards. The Bundesrat approved a corresponding law on Friday (20 May), which implements an agreement between …

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Germany: Important information for Africans from Ukraine

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, more than 4 million Ukrainians and people of other nationalities resident in the country have fled to other European countries. According to the German government, more than 400,000 of the displaced are currently in Germany to seek refuge – among these are thousands of Africans. While the legal …

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Berlin holds seminars on self-employment for people with migrant background

ANNOUNCEMENT The extraordinary seminar programme offered by the State of Berlin on the topic of start-ups and self-employment for people with a migration background interested in starting a business begins a new round in May! For exactly 20 years, the state of Berlin has been strengthening and honouring the economic growth and cultural diversity of Berlin’s start-ups and has been running the …

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Germany: Group holds information sessions for Africans from Ukraine

A group supporting African war refugees from Ukraine who are currently seeking refuge in Germany will hold two information sessions in May. The virtual events, ‘Information Session on Studying in Germany’ and ‘Legal Advice for Africans from Ukraine’, are organised by Help for Africans from Ukraine in Germany (HAUG) to provide orientation guide for the refugees. ‘Information Session on Studying …

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African students from Ukraine receive residence permit in Hamburg after weeks of uncertainty!

The first beneficiaries of the new Hamburg regulation for third country students from Ukraine received their Fiktionsbescheinigung (Transitional Residence Permit) yesterday. A Fiktionsbescheinigung is issued if a decision has not yet been taken on an applied-for residence title or if the decision could not yet be taken. It is therefore a provisional right to stay in Germany. As we reported last week, …

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Ukraine: Hamburg grants residence permit to African students, others

Students fleeing the war in Ukraine should be able to continue their studies in Hamburg even if they come from a third country, the city’s authorities have now decided. Hamburg, one of Germany’s 16 federal states, now issues a 6-month provisional residency right to non-Ukrainian students from Ukraine. Speaking in an interview with Hamburg Journal, a spokesperson of the city, …

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Germany extends visa free status for refugees from Ukraine

The edict allowing people fleeing the war in Ukraine to enter Germany without a visa and reside in the country without a permit has been extended. The Ukraine Residence Transition Ordinance (UkraineAufenthÜV), issued by the Federal Ministry of the Interior on 7 March 2022, is currently valid until 23 May 2022. An amendment** of the edict was approved by the …

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Survey of African women married to Germans

Leaving your homeland for a foreign one comes with a number of challenges. The process of fitting into your new environment socially, culturally and economically takes its toll on migrants in different ways. How the migration process affects educated women from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean is currently being studied by a PhD student at the Universidade Aberta, a …

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Germany launches information portal for refugees from Ukraine

The Federal Ministry of the Interior and Home Affairs (BMI) has launched a portal to provide information and orientation support to people seeking refuge in Germany from fleeing the war in Ukraine. “Germany4Ukraine.de is an information service for refugees from Ukraine. It provides them with a trustworthy, secure, digital contact point with the most important initial information after their arrival …

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Ukraine: Germany promises better registration of refugees

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, speaking in the Bundestag (federal parliament) on Wednesday, said the registration of displaced persons from the war in Ukraine was currently being improved. Refugees who are admitted to initial reception centres are registered there. This should be further intensified, she said. As at Wednesday (16 March), the Federal Police had registered around 175,000 refugees from …

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Germany releases Regulation on Residence Permit for Refugees from Ukraine

Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior has published an edict on the temporary exemption of persons from Ukraine from the requirement of a residence permit due to the war in the country. The edict, dated 7 March 2022 and called Ukraine-Aufenthalts-Übergangsverordnung (Ukraine Transitional Residence Ordinance or UkraineAufenthÜV), allows Ukrainians and third country nationals resident in the country to enter and …

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Ukraine: Germany accepts refugees regardless of nationality

Federal Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, has assured that Germany will accept all refugees from Ukraine regardless of their nationality. “We want to save lives. That does not depend on passport,” Faeser told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag, referring to the increasing number of people coming to Germany from Ukraine. Faeser said that the vast majority of the refugees …

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Germany’s Integration Minister calls for more diversity in public institutions

Germany’s Minister of State for Migration, Refugees and Integration has said there should be more police officers, teachers and public administrative staff with a migration history. A new study, meanwhile, highlights institutional racism at German authorities. Benjamin Bathke reports. “We need more diversity in order to do away with prejudices on both sides and make authorities more aware of immigrants’ …

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NIDO Germany partners GIZ on regular migration from Nigeria

NIDO Germany has successfully participated in the pilot phase of a project to integrate the organisation and returning experts into the advisory structure of the Nigerian-German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration (NGC) on regular migration. The NGC, run by the GIZ and which operates in Abuja, Benin-City and Lagos, provides advisory services to prospective migrants as well as conducts …

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Maisha celebrates 25th anniversary in Frankfurt

Maisha – African Women in Germany e.V. recently celebrated 25 years of its existence in Frankfurt. Maisha, which means “life” in Swahili, is a self-help organisation of African women in Germany founded in 1996 by Virginia Wangare Greiner. The occasion, attended by members as well as friends and partners of the organisation, was a milestone for self-organisation in the African …

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Germany: High number of asylum-seekers’ appeals succeeds in court – report reveals

More and more refugees are becoming successful in appealing against a negative asylum decision. In the vast majority of cases, they are granted protection status by the courts. The Left party complains about “political pressure” on the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. A growing number of refugees are successful in appealing against the rejection of their asylum application. In …

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Record number of MPs with migration background in new Bundestag

The newly-elected German Bundestag, the lower house of the federal parliament, convened for the first time on Tuesday (26 October). The inaugural meeting of the parliament, taking place about four weeks after the general elections, marked the official start of the 20th legislative period. The parliament held its first session, with one of its first acts being to elect Bärbel …

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