LIVING IN GERMANY

Kenyan nutritionist and social entrepreneur Wawira Njiru has been named the 2026 recipient of the German Africa Prize for turning school feeding into a model for food security, job creation and local economic development. Kenyan social innovator and nutritionist Wawira Njiru has been named the recipient of the 2026 German Africa Prize, one of Germany’s most prominent awards recognising outstanding …

Since 7 August, a temporary 25-metre open-air pool, the ‘Volksbad’, has stood outside Berlin’s Volksbühne theatre as part of an art installation by artistic director Matthias Lilienthal. Entry is free, but as at many public pools, the basin is reserved for particular groups on certain days. Each One Teach One (EOTO), a Berlin organisation supporting people of African descent, had …

Berlin has become the last of Germany’s 16 federal states to introduce the Bezahlkarte (payment card) for asylum-seekers, ending a long-running delay and bringing the state in line with the rest of the country. From now on, newly arriving asylum-seekers in Berlin will receive their benefits on a card rather than as cash — a change that will directly affect …

Migrants are becoming ever more central to Germany’s workforce, but many are still working well below their qualifications, and women in particular continue to struggle to find jobs. That’s the picture painted by a new Focus Paper from the Bertelsmann Stiftung, which takes a close look at how migrants are faring on the German labour market. The numbers underline just …

From labelling requirements for artificial intelligence to a new legal right to all-day school care, several new laws and regulations take effect in Germany in August 2026. While some changes mainly affect businesses, others will have a direct impact on families, workers and everyday consumers. Here is our guide to the seven changes that matter most, explained without the legal …

With voluntary access to Germany’s full Integrationskurse (integration courses) still largely closed to asylum-seekers and people with a Duldung (toleration permit) — even after the partial reopening from 1 August 2026 — Erstorientierungskurse (EOK, “first orientation courses”) remain, for now, the main structured option available to them. Here is what they are and how to access one. What they are …

Germany has partly lifted its months-long freeze on voluntary admissions to Integrationskurse (integration courses), but the reopening — which takes effect on 1 August — offers little relief to asylum-seekers and people living with a Duldung (toleration permit). This is a follow-up to our earlier reports on the funding crisis affecting integration courses, including our last week’s story on warnings …

Following media reports on Germany’s plan to cut integration course funding to €590 million in 2027, the country’s Adult Education Association says the real cut is worse than providers were told — and has accused the government of “dismantling” one of Germany’s most effective integration tools. Germany’s Association of Adult Education Centres (Deutscher Volkshochschulverband) has sharply criticised the federal government …

More than a year after 21-year-old Afro-German Lorenz A. was shot dead by a police officer in Oldenburg, the city’s regional court (Landgericht Oldenburg) has formally admitted charges of negligent homicide against the officer involved, clearing the way for a criminal trial. The court decision marks a significant step in a case that has become a focal point in Germany’s …

Germany’s independent Federal Police Commissioner, Uli Grötsch, this week presented his first annual report to Bundestag President Julia Klöckner — and the findings make for uncomfortable reading. In the twelve months covered by the report, Grötsch, whose office was appointed by the Bundestag to oversee the work of the Federal Police, received 279 submissions from members of the public. The …

A 40 percent cut to language course funding and an 80 percent reduction in independent asylum counselling services signal a sharp shift in Germany’s approach to newcomers Germany’s federal government is planning major cuts to integration programmes next year, significantly reducing funding for language courses and independent asylum counselling despite continued demand for both services. According to the draft 2027 …

A new Bertelsmann Stiftung study finds that despite chronic labour shortages, thousands of qualified migrants in Germany are working far below their skill level, highlighting a costly mismatch that affects both the economy and migrant communities. For Africans among the country’s 5.9 million foreign workers, the findings confirm a familiar frustration. Germany urgently needs skilled workers, yet a new study …

July 2026 ushers in a wide-ranging package of legal and policy changes that will affect millions of people across Germany. The reforms span key areas of everyday life, including social welfare, pensions, taxation, healthcare, consumer rights, transport and travel. While some measures will boost personal incomes or make public services easier to access, others introduce stricter rules and new responsibilities. …

From 1 July, Germany’s long-term unemployment benefit has a new name, tougher sanctions and a stricter savings rule. Here is what changes, what stays the same, and what African claimants should do now. _______ From 1 July 2026, Bürgergeld, the benefit that millions of jobseekers in Germany have received since 2023, has been replaced by Grundsicherung (Basic Income Support). For …

Germany’s Muslim population has reached between 6.6 and 7 million people, according to a new projection by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge, BAMF). This represents 8.0 to 8.5 percent of the total population, a figure that challenges persistent public misperceptions, with surveys consistently showing that Germans dramatically overestimate the actual proportion of Muslims …

Refugee and asylum-seeking children in Germany are now entitled to significantly better healthcare, following changes that took effect on 12 June under the implementation of the European Union’s new asylum system. __________ While much of the EU’s Common European Asylum System (GEAS) introduces stricter border procedures and faster asylum processing, one aspect of the reform brings a clear benefit for …

In a judgment delivered on 11 June 2026, a Berlin court awarded financial compensation to a Black German man after finding that he had been subjected to racial discrimination during a police identity check. The ruling is seen as an important application of Berlin’s State Anti-Discrimination Act _______ A Berlin court has ordered the state to pay €500 in compensation …

Twenty years after Germany introduced its landmark anti-discrimination law, campaigners say the legislation has helped improve legal protection against unequal treatment but no longer reflects the realities of discrimination in modern society. The General Equal Treatment Act (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz – AGG) came into force on 18 August 2006 to protect people from discrimination based on ethnic origin, race, gender, religion …

When The African Courier reported in January 2026 on Germany’s proposed overhaul of its paternity recognition rules, the draft law was still working its way through parliament and advocacy groups were watching closely. On 12 June 2026, the waiting ended. The Bundestag passed the legislation with the governing coalition of CDU/CSU and SPD voting in favour, the Greens and the …

Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to Germany, HE Senator Ita Enang, has arrived in Berlin to begin preparations for his diplomatic assignment, marking the start of a new chapter in relations between Nigeria and one of its most important European partners. The former senator and presidential adviser landed in the German capital accompanied by his wife, Dr Rosemary Ita Enang on 11 June. …