Last week, the Conference of State Interior Ministers held in Bremen clarified the conditions of stay in the Federal Republic for unrecognized refugees
On the one hand, we are talking about people from the states of the former Yugoslavia, the CIS, or Afghanistan. Many of them had children born in Germany, who still faced deportation to a homeland that had long become foreign. On the other side of the problem is a huge bureaucratic apparatus that does not want to put up with the billions in social benefits for this category of foreigners.
The decision was postponed until it became clear to everyone that putting it off any longer was not only pointless but also simply dangerous. At the end of 2006, a hard-fought compromise was finally reached. Refugees who managed to find work received a two-year residence permit. The rule applied to foreigners who had lived in the country for six years (for families) or eight years (for single individuals) as of July 1, 2007.
At the same time, the state Offices for Foreigners could decide at their discretion on the extension of the residence permit. Officials considered factors such as the applicants' knowledge of the German language, no criminal record for serious crimes, and no involvement in terrorist or extremist organizations. A major problem was that several thousand people who fell within the time frame of the new rule not only had no job but also, for the most part, no work permit.
Last week, the Conference of State Interior Ministers held in Bremen clarified the conditions of stay in the Federal Republic for unrecognized refugees. The ministers decided that the current legal rule would be extended for another two years, until the end of 2011. Thus, about 30,000 people will be able to officially extend their residence permit in Germany. The main requirements for them remain a job, knowledge of the German language, and possession of “genuine” national passports.
There is also one innovation. Foreigners who are attending school, undergoing vocational training, or working at least part-time will also receive permission to stay in Germany. If all these conditions are not met by December 31, 2011, then refugees will very likely face deportation. The ministers acknowledged that their verdict was influenced by “external independent factors” – in the conditions of the financial crisis, even native Germans are losing jobs in Germany.
Notably, this liberal decision regarding the admission of foreigners in Germany was made under pressure from conservative politicians from the CDU/CSU. The Social Democrats, on the other hand, insisted on not extending the current rules. Federal Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière, commenting on the decision, did not hide his satisfaction: “Finally, there is clarity for all refugees.” At the same time, he, however, forgot about the hundred thousand people who have the Duldung status but did not live in Germany for the required number of years by July 1, 2007.
Meanwhile, the number of asylum seekers in Germany continues to steadily decline. In 1996, there were 490,000; now it is five times less. One of the reasons is the Dublin Agreement, according to which an application for legalization of an illegal immigrant in the EU can only be submitted in the country through which the refugee enters the European Union. As a result, today a situation arises where in such “border” EU states as Malta, the number of refugees, based on per capita count, is 10 times higher than in the EU, and 20 times higher than in Germany.
It is no coincidence, therefore, that Brussels recently decided to open an EU office for immigration affairs in Malta. The goal of the new structure, which will have a staff of more than a hundred people and a budget of €50 million per year, will be to speed up the processing of refugees or their return to their homeland.
Vladimir Gushchin. 