MIGRATION

A total of 519,000 asylum applications were filed in European countries in the first half of this year, marking an increase of 28 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to the latest report of the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA). “As a result of the increase, many EU+ countries* are under pressure with processing applications …

The EU has signed an agreement with Tunisia to block migrants from using the country as a base to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. In view of the rising numbers of migrants and their life-threatening journeys across the Mediterranean, the EU and Tunisia have decided to cooperate more closely on the issue, the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, …

Around one million people applied for asylum in the EU+ countries, comprising EU member states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, last year. This is an increase of around 50 percent compared to 2021, according to the EU Asylum Agency (EUAA). According to the report, about 996,000 applications for international protection were filed in the EU+ countries. Together …

Each year on 20 June, the world marks World Refugee Day, to draw attention to the plight of millions of people who have been forced to flee war, violence and persecution and to the international obligations under the United Nations 1951 Geneva Convention on the Protection of Refugees. In the face of the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World …

The British government has announced measures to restrict the ability of international students to bring family members to the UK in order to reduce net migration to the country. The move comes as official statistics are expected to confirm that net migration rose to more than 700,000 in the year to December 2022. The new visa restrictions, announced on Tuesday, …

European governments are increasingly focused on detaining irregular migrants and returning them to their home countries. But PICUM, a Brussels-based NGO, says they are illegal measures that won’t deter asylum seekers. Marion MacGregor reports European countries have been stepping up efforts to stop asylum seekers from entering or remaining in the territory. The UK government is continuing to push ahead …

A majority of Germans think immigration brings more disadvantages than advantages, according to a new survey. Half of those polled said they’d like Germany to take in fewer refugees than it currently does. Sabine Kinkartz of DW reports German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, a Social Democrat, is calling for a change in the EU’s migration policy to limit refugee numbers. …

Italy declared a nationwide state of emergency on Tuesday for the next six months following the exceptional increase in migrants continuously arriving via the Mediterranean routes. On Tuesday, the Council of Ministers led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni declared a national state of emergency on immigration after the Civil Protection and Sea Policies Minister Nello Musumeci proposed it. The decision …

The duration of asylum proceedings in Germany increased again last year, the Federal Ministry of the Interior has reported. In 2022, it took an average of 7.6 months for a decision to be made by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, one month longer than in 2021, according to a response by the Ministry to a question from the …

In order to increase the number of deportations of rejected asylum-seekers, the EU states should mutually recognise such decisions, according to the European Commission. Today, an asylum-seeker rejected in one EU country can simply move on to another EU country and start the application process again there, said EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson in Strasbourg on Tuesday. “This …

The German government has appointed a special representative on migration who is expected to negotiate with major origin countries of refugees in Germany. Joachim Stamp was named early March as Germany’s first-ever “Special representative of the federal government for migration agreements.” He’s been saddled with the responsibility of finding a solution to the about 250,000 rejected asylum-seekers who are tolerated …

A Nigerian woman who has been wanted in Italy since 2010, was on Wednesday flown from Abuja to Rome where she had been sentenced in absentia to 13 years in prison for crimes including running a prostitution ring, Italian police has announced. The 48-year-old Joy Jeff was one of the few women on Italy’s most-wanted list of 100 dangerous fugitives, …

In a strong show of support for Guineans fleeing Tunisia, President Mamadi Doumbouya was at the airport in Conakry on 1 March to welcome 49 citizens who were repatriated via a special flight. Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya, who came to power through a coup two years ago, greeted the returnees as they alighted the aircraft. The flight was organised by by …

According to the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA), around 966,000 asylum applications (including subsequent applications) were submitted in the European Union in 2022. This is around 50 percent more than in the previous year. The figure does not include refugees from Ukraine who received “temporary protection” in the European Union. Most asylum applicants came from Syria (around 132,000), Afghanistan (129,000), …

Germany wants to recruit more skilled workers from Ghana. Federal Development Minister Svenja Schulze and Federal Labour Minister Hubertus Heil (both SPD) presented an initiative to this effect on Tuesday in Accra during their visit to the African country. The Ghanaian-German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration in the capital city, which has been supporting Ghanaian deportees and returnees since …

The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) is not allowed to analyse the mobile phones of asylum-seekers without a concrete reason. This practice is inadmissible if other available findings and documents are not sufficiently taken into account, the Federal Administrative Court ruled in Leipzig on Thursday. For years, the BAMF, which is the central migration authority in Germany responsible …

The European Union (EU) wants to create a common European return system for so-called “illegal” migrants. To this end, the EU Commission presented a strategy paper in Brussels recently. “So far, we are not making good progress with the returns,” said EU Return Coordinator Mari Juritsch, who has been in office since May 2022. The number of repatriations had halved …

Every year, hundreds of migrants disappear on migration journeys across the world, the Central Mediterranean being the deadliest route with most recorded deaths. Where can relatives of missing loved ones turn for help? A special report by Ana P. Santos —- Every year, thousands of people attempt to escape persecution, conflict or destitution from Africa and the Middle East and …

The Opportunity Residence Act (“Chancenaufenthaltsgesetz”) comes into force on 1 January 2023. Tolerated persons in Germany who had been living in Germany for five years or more on the cut-off date of 1 October 2022 are to receive a residence permit “on probation”. Tolerated persons are people who are obliged to leave the country but are allowed to stay temporarily …

By loading the video, you agree to YouTube’s privacy policy.Learn more Load video Always unblock YouTube A migrant’s personal story of return, resolution, and resilience Tübingen – It’s a warm summer day in 2021. Musa Coker sits in the office of his return counsellor. He has visited the small office in Southwest Germany multiple times this year, seeking information, advice …