Contingent for entry into Germany
The number of entry permits issued annually as a late resettler is regulated on the basis of Section 27 (3) and (4) BVFG (the law on expellees and refugees). Issues of Jewish emigration are regulated by different rules. In today's article I will only discuss the situation of late resettlers. Section 27 (3) BVFG stipulates that the number of permits issued for the admission of late resettlers and their family members must not exceed the average number of persons distributed by the Federal Administrative Office for residence nationwide in 1991 and 1992. This allocation of limited admission quotas leads to multi-year waiting lists. At present, it is planned to issue no more than 100,000 people per year with permits to resettle in the Federal Republic of Germany. This figure corresponds to the number of applications for admission to the Federal Republic of Germany filed annually under the BVFG and the number of late resettlers actually arriving. True, over the past six months, for reasons incomprehensible to me, the number of applications filed with German embassies for resettlement in the Federal Republic of Germany by ethnic Germans living in the CIS countries has increased noticeably. This is probably related to the military operations in the Caucasus and Central Asia, and other factors are possible.
The main way to speed things up is to avoid delays
Delays in the processing of an application can occur if the applicant for late resettler status fills out the application form for admission to Germany incompletely or unclearly. Especially in cases where there are doubts about the applicant's constant recognition of belonging to the German people. With regard to the entry in the "nationality" field in various documents, the Federal Administrative Office has a habit of bombarding people with various confusing questions. Such correspondence with the authority often lasts for years. During this time, the case officers may change several times, and each new employee considers it his duty to ask new questions and contribute to the swelling of the file. If, after several years of fruitless correspondence, the case lands on my desk, sometimes it is even difficult for me to determine whether all questions have been answered satisfactorily, whether, in the opinion of the Federal Administrative Office, certain documents should be submitted, etc. In practice, I constantly hear that delays in processing documents are due to the failure to submit all documents required by the authority. The same applies to the required form of the submitted documents (original, notarized copies, etc.). Documents that do not comply with formal requirements are not considered. Difficulties in mutual understanding with the Federal Administrative Office also often arise. The applicant believes that he has fulfilled all the necessary formalities, when in fact he is expected to submit certain additional documents. While the authority and the applicant figure things out, many months can pass. In such cases, I always recommend having the case reviewed by a specialist.
On the possibilities for obtaining a permit more quickly
I must say right away that the possibilities of speeding up the procedure for reviewing an application and issuing an entry permit are very limited. In a normal, unexceptional average case, there is nothing left but to patiently wait for the decision of the Federal Administrative Office.
It is possible to achieve faster processing of an application and issuance of a decision on admission to the Federal Republic of Germany in the case of a proven serious illness of the applicant or his family members, when there are urgent indications for treatment in Germany. Typical examples are cancer or severe consequences of injuries and accidents that cannot be treated at a modern level in most CIS countries. General old-age ailments or poor health are not such grounds. For accelerated processing of the application, the applicant must prove that any delay in entering Germany and delaying the start of qualified treatment could have fatal consequences for the health of the ill family member. The authority places high demands on the medical certificates and documents submitted. Usually, a detailed medical report is required with a full diagnosis and a justification of why the necessary treatment for this disease cannot be provided locally in one of the CIS states. Vague and unconvincing medical certificates that say nothing or uninformative diagnoses such as vegetative-vascular dystonia are usually not taken into account.
If reliable medical documents are available, the applicant has good chances of expedited processing of his application. A prerequisite for success is also correct and competent correspondence with the relevant German authorities. Of course, even in these cases, the Federal Administrative Office, with the mandatory participation of the state authorities, takes several months to reach a decision on the case.
War is war
Recently, I have encountered cases where applicants justify their request for expedited processing by the impending draft of their sons or grandsons. In light of the notorious state of the armies of the CIS countries and the hazing that prevails in them, as well as the ongoing hostilities in many parts of the former USSR, parents show justified concern for the mental and physical health of their children during and after military service. Not to mention even more serious fears - for the lives of soldiers.
Regarding this alarming situation, the following can be said: The Federal Administrative Office does not lose its composure upon learning of the impending conscription of a candidate for resettlement to Germany, and only to a very limited extent does it accept impending fulfillment of military service as a valid reason for expedited processing of the application. It considers military service in the CIS a general risk factor to which all citizens of the CIS countries are equally exposed and which should not be taken into account by the German authorities when deciding on the application. On the other hand, it should not be the case that a family of ethnic Germans is forced, through no fault of their own, to wait four years for a decision on admission as late resettlers, and then, two weeks before the planned departure to Germany, the son must report to the conscription point upon a summons from the military enlistment office. In cases where there is a fundamentally positive decision on the application and it is a matter of settling a number of necessary formalities, I have so far managed to obtain expedited issuance of the resettlement permit for the conscript's family.
In any case, I always recommend sending to the Federal Administrative Office a certificate about the imminent call-up for active military service in the Armed Forces. The Office, of course, is well aware of the compulsory military service of persons who have reached the age of 18, but it never hurts to personally remind the official handling the case of this circumstance. In extreme cases, one might consider the advisability of seeking help from one of the German administrative courts.