As 'Russkaya Germaniya' notes, the adoption of the 'Migration Package' had been postponed indefinitely, but now the dispute has been resolved: the Bundestag approved in the second and third readings the 'Law on Orderly Return' (Geordnete-Rückkehr-Gesetz, officially called the 'Second Law on Better Enforcement of the Obligation to Leave', Zweites Gesetz zur besseren Durchsetzung der Ausreisepflicht), introducing new rules for staying in the country and the procedure for deporting immigrants who have not been granted asylum in Germany.
The first thing the new law provides for is improved coordination between various agencies dealing with foreign nationals: often, due to a lack of coordination, the deportation of those who have no right to stay in Germany fails. With the entry into force of the new law, law enforcement agencies – primarily the police, as well as youth welfare offices, offices for forcibly displaced persons, the German Foreign Ministry and its representations abroad – will gain access to data from the Central Register of Foreign Nationals (Ausländerzentralregister, AZR).
The AZR is an information database of the Federal Administrative Office of Germany (Bundesverwaltungsamt, BVA), subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior, which contains data on approximately 20 million non-citizens who have or had the right to stay in Germany, including all those who have ever applied for political asylum, received it, or did not receive it. The police and other agencies will be granted the right not only to request AZR data but also to exchange the information obtained. This is an important step in streamlining the complex situation with asylum seekers who may have registered and repeatedly filed applications in different federal states.
In addition, the new law regulates the rules for handling those being deported from the country: the postponement of deportation will be shortened for those who resist or do not facilitate it – for example, by refusing to obtain the necessary documents for deportation from Germany in their home country. For such persons, a new type of residence permit (Duldung) is introduced – 'for persons of unclear identity' (Personen mit ungeklärter Identität).
Foreign nationals subject to deportation can be placed not only in special detention centers (currently there are 487 places across the country): failed refugees will also be accommodated in penitentiary institutions – an additional 500 places for those subject to deportation will be prepared in prisons.
In July 2016, the legislature introduced a restriction on refugees' right to choose their place of residence for a period of three years. Currently, asylum seekers are required to stay in a specific federal state (in some cases, a specific locality). From August of this year, this rule could have been repealed, and the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) would have had to return to the old practice, but the Bundestag abolished the three-year validity period of this norm – now the designation of a specific place of residence will become permanent.
Finally, unaccompanied minor refugees arriving in Germany must register at one of the special reception centers or BAMF branches before filing an asylum application. Almost everyone, except the very youngest, will have to provide fingerprints. Previously, fingerprints were collected from all those over 14; now they will also be taken from children starting at the age of six.
In response to the concessions of the Social Democrats, who agreed to the tough demands of law enforcement, the conservatives did not oppose changes to immigration legislation concerning the arrival of qualified workers, which the German labor market desperately needs. Key changes in the new 'Skilled Immigration Act' (Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz) include permission for entry for representatives of any profession (not only those in shortage). There will also be the right to a six-month stay in Germany at one's own expense for the purpose of job seeking – provided the applicant has knowledge of German and without the possibility of receiving benefits (previously, it was required to search for a job from abroad and present a ready employment contract to obtain a visa).
German employers, in turn, will no longer need to prove that there is no German or EU citizen candidate for the position.
After debates and preparation of bills in the Bundestag, the 'Law on Orderly Return' and other accompanying laws still need to be approved by the Bundesrat – the representation of the federal states, where the ruling coalition does not have a majority. Both earlier and during the current debates, the opposition insisted that a number of innovations – in particular, the placement of asylum seekers in prisons – violate human rights.
It is possible that opposition from states where the Greens and the Left Party are in government may be sufficient to block the bill and insist on its return to the Bundestag for some amendments.