SEEKING ASYLUM IN GERMANY

Which insurance do you need as a refugee in Germany? — Special Report

Everybody gets sick sometimes or accidentally breaks things. That’s why health and private liability insurance are vital. But what do asylum-seekers and recognized refugees need to bear in mind when taking out insurance policy in Germany? Here we look at the basics and the ins and outs of key insurance policies for refugees and asylum-seekers in Germany. Benjamin Bathke/InfoMigrant reports. …

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Germany: Over 600 attacks on refugees in first half of 2019

Asylum-seekers and refugees continue to be the targets of attacks in Germany — and they are almost always victims of far-right violence. Offenses range from verbal slurs to arson and dangerous bodily harm. German police registered a total of 609 attacks on asylum-seekers and refugees during the first half of 2019, according to the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung. The newspaper cited an answer given by …

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Deported Nigerians: Germany violated international agreements – say activists

Twenty Nigerians were deported to their home country on 19 August. Our correspondent Raphael Adenaike was at the Lagos airport when the deportees arrived and they narrated their personal ordeals and experiences with the German police, immigration officials and medical doctors as well as the Nigerian Embassy to Raphael (read article here). Raphael also spoke with pro-refugee activists in Lagos …

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EXCLUSIVE! Nigerian deportees from Germany narrate their tales of woe in Lagos

Our Correspondent in Nigeria, Raphael Adenaike, was at the Lagos airport when Nigerian deportees, including a single mother of one, arrived from Germany on Monday 19 August. The deportees, whose asylum applications had been rejected, narrated their personal ordeals and experiences with the German police, immigration officials and medical doctors as well as the Nigerian Embassy to Raphael. With little …

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Refugees visiting home country: What German authorities say

A recent debate over the revocation of refugee status for Syrian nationals in Germany has raised some questions. Are people with refugee protection allowed to visit their home country? What happens if you are found to have broken the law? Charlotte Hauswedell of InfoMigrants takes a closer look. German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has suggested that asylum-seekers from Syria should …

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New law for quicker deportation enters into force in Germany

The so-called ‘Orderly Return Law’ (das Geordnete-Rückkehr-Gesetz) was approved in June. It went into force on Wednesday (21 August). It gives authorities and police more powers to enforce deportation orders. Critics fear more refugees could now be legally detained. The tightening of rules governing the deportation of rejected asylum-seekers took effect on Wednesday. Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) said …

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Anger at Lagos airport as Nigerian deportees arrive from Germany

No fewer than 20 Nigerian migrants have been deported by the German authority, The African Courier can confirm. The migrants arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at 4:30pm on Monday (19 August). The African Courier gathered that the returnees were picked randomly at different times and detained in a deportation prison prior to their repatriation. READ MORE New law for …

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11,500 persons deported from Germany in first half of 2019, says federal government

Close to 11,500 people were deported from Germany in the first six months of 2019, slightly fewer than in the same period last year. That’s according to the German federal government, which also said that during deportations, the degree of physical resistance by asylum-seekers and the resulting use of force by the police are on the rise. In the first …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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What the German Constitution says about the Right to Asylum

Friedrich Merz, a candidate for the leadership of Germany’s biggest party – the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has said that Germany is the only country in the world to guarantee the right to asylum in its Constitution. He’s called for a debate on the issue. But is Merz actually correct? Ahmad Wali Achakzai reports. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced …

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Germany to fast-track deportation of rejected asylum-seekers

Germany’s Interior Ministry has proposed new measures to monitor and deport persons whose asylum application has been rejected.  The German Interior Ministry on Sunday (18 November) confirmed plans to facilitate and accelerate deportations of failed asylum-seekers along with those who should have their asylum requests processed in another EU country under the so-called Dublin rules. According to the European Union’s Dublin …

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Germany: What the list of ‘safe countries of origin’ means for asylum-seekers’ chances

People from Germany’s list of “safe” countries rarely have the right to asylum. Keith Walker and Timothy Jones of Deutsche Welle look at what the list means for asylum-seekers in Germany. Germany’s constitution defines as “safe countries of origin” the ones “in which, on the basis of their laws, enforcement practices and general political conditions, it can be safely concluded …

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Travel restrictions for asylum-seekers and refugees in Germany: What you need to know

German authorities report an increasing number of asylum-seekers and refugees travelling abroad without knowing that they might not be allowed to do so. We’ve compiled a list of what rules and restrictions apply to various groups of these migrants. Sertan Sanderson/InfoMigrants reports. Many refugees spent weeks and months on their journeys to Europe travelling through several countries and facing countless …

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