Germany Refugee Legal Framework

Summary of 
 Legal Context Refugee status and spaces in Germany Information provided by Sabine Scherer, Director Landkreis (County) Kassel Youth Department In-person meeting on August 1, 2016

Germany is not an immigration country. 
 No laws addressing immigration with two exceptions!

Asylrecht

Ausländerrecht

(Asylum Law)

(Foreigner Law)

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Asylrecht

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(Asylum Law) ‣

Asylrecht is based on the German Constitution (Grundgesetz) of 1949 Article 16 In Sabine’s words, this article states, “We Germans will pay for our guilt to have sent away so many by offering political asylum.”

Germany has also made UN and EU agreements/commitments to accept asylum seekers.

Asylrecht (Asylum Law) 1. Asylum seeker (Asylbewerber) arrives in Germany 2. Asylum application submitted 3. Waiting period - indefinite: months to years 4a. Acceptance (Anerkennung)

4b. Refusal (Ablehnung)

5a. Must apply through Foreigner Laws for individual exceptions to decide temporary or indefinite approval

5b. Duty to leave the country (Ausreisepflicht) 6a.

Toleration (Duldung)

6b.

Leave (Ausreise)

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Ausländerrecht

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(Foreigner Law)

Ausländerrecht is a regulation exception principle The law states that foreigners are not allowed to stay in Germany.

There are two kinds of exceptions: 1. International agreements EU constitution allows foreigners from other EU nations 2.Individual permits (Erlaubnis) - a case by case decision made by the Foreigners Bureau (Ausländer Behörde)

Ausländerrecht (Foreigner Law) Individual permits (Erlaubnis) - a case by case decision made by the Foreigners Bureau (Ausländer Behörde)

Exception granted to stay indefinitely Exception granted to stay temporarily Exception denied, must leave Germany

Refugee Reception & Distribution in Germany 4 stages 1. Initial reception centers (Auffanglager) - days to weeks Run by the federal government (BAMF), these are the places where the refugees are first given shelter and entered into the German system 2. Initial Facility (Erstaufnahme Einrichtung) - days to months Managed by the states (Bundesland) 3. Shared Accommodation (Gemeinschafts Unterkunft) weeks to years Managed by the counties (Landkreis) and cities (Stadt) 4. Private flats/apartments (Eigene Wohnung) - months to years Refugees can either be assigned these places, or in some circumstances, they can find their own apartments

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About one million refugees arrived to Germany in 2015 (UN).

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By June of 2016, another 435,000 had arrived (UN).

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Asylum is granted primarily to people from countries involved in violent conflict/war. Migrants/ refugees from other countries are most often denied asylum.

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In 2016, most Syrians received asylum.

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Refugees are distributed throughout Germany on a quota system to various states, then by the states to various counties and cities.

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Cities, counties, states all determine how to manage refugee systems.

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In Essen, refugees were distributed to various temporary camps around the city. In the past months or so, refugees have been resettled to temporary facilities in permanent structures.