LIVING IN GERMANY

I attended the opening of a new private dental practice in the Bavarian town of Neusäss on Friday, 8 April. The clinic, Zahnarztpraxis OloWow, belongs to Nigerian-born Dr Margaret Mosun Olowookere. When I started The African Courier and with it my press coverage of the African community in January 1998, there were very few African doctors and dentists in private …

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 …

A man in Germany has been arrested and charged with murder more than 30 years after an arson attack on a shelter for asylum-seekers in the city of Saarlouis. A young Ghanaian had died of severe burns and smoke inhalation as a result of the attack. A 50-year-old German national, identified as Peter S., was arrested in the western city …

Some important changes in general regulations and laws enter into force in April. For example, many coronavirus pandemic-related restrictions will finally be abolished, people working in nursing care will receive more money and those who move from one place to the other for job-related reasons will be able to make bigger deductions from their taxes, among others. —— COVID-19 restrictions …

Here’s the speech delivered by Dr Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, member of the European Parliament, at a public demonstration against the war in Ukraine, which took place in the southeastern German city of Erlangen on Saturday, 26 March. The Malian-born European parliamentarian makes a strong case for African students displaced by the war who are currently seeking refuge in the EU ——– …

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 …

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, about 4 million Ukrainians and people of other nationalities resident in the country have been seeking refuge in European countries, according to the UN refugee agency. Among the refugees are Africans and Asians, many of whom are students, who are resident in Ukraine. Non-Ukrainians fleeing the war have …

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 …

"There is still a feeling that everything that's local is primitive"

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 …

Germany has suffered defeat at the European Court of Justice over the detention of persons to be deported. The court ruled that would-be deportees should not be remanded in a place that could be described as a prison People who are to be deported may not be detained as if they were prisoners, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has …

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 …

Every month, new laws and amendments to laws are introduced that affect everyday life in Germany. What will change in March 2022 in terms of Corona rules, gambling and consumer protection is revealed here. —– Relaxation of Corona Restrictions The federal and state governments agreed to gradually relax the regulations on contact and access restrictions in the month of March. …

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’ …

Due to the decreasing incidence of the new coronavirus infections in Germany, the federal and state governments have agreed on a step-by-step plan to relax restrictive measures in force. After a meeting on Wednesday between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the premiers of the Laender, a three-step plan with the removal of the vast majority of restrictions which should bring Germany …

A new library in honour of Theodor Wonja Michael will be opened on Saturday 19 February in Cologne as part of activities marking this year’s Black History Month. The Theodor Wonja Michael Library was set up by the Afro-Diasporic association Sonnenblumen Community Development Group e. V. Michael, who died in October 2019 at the age of 94, was one of …

Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been re-elected for a second term as the President of Germany. The Federal Assembly confirmed the 66-year-old Social Democrat in Berlin on Sunday with a large majority. He will thus remain Germany’s head of state for another five years. After his re-election, Steinmeier gave a combative speech in which he emphasised the strength of democracy, condemned …

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 …

Like at the beginning of every new month in Germany, new regulations come into force in February. These affect, among others, deadline for the submission of tax returns, validity of the EU vaccination certificate and new rules on hate online. Here’s overview of the most important changes: ——– Validity of EU vaccination certificates From 1 February, the validity of EU …

The German Development Cooperation here in Abuja, Nigeria, has a field of action called Business Ideas for Development. Their main aim is to support Nigerian professionals in Germany who are interested in starting a business in Nigeria