Refugees, migrants, asylum seekers – even experts sometimes confuse these terms. Who has the right to asylum in Germany, and who will be rejected and forced to leave the country? How does the procedure for deporting foreigners work? Answers to these and other questions are in the updated fact sheet prepared by Deutsche Welle.
Migrants
The term "migrants" is used to refer to persons who have changed their place of residence. Migration is usually spoken of when a person decides to relocate voluntarily (for example, to improve their living conditions), but is not in danger.
If someone leaves their country fleeing hunger or the consequences of an earthquake, then, according to the Geneva Convention, they are also a migrant, not a refugee, and do not fall under its protection, notes the website of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. In such cases, one speaks of "forced migration."
Who has the right to asylum in Germany?
Those persecuted for political reasons are protected by the German Basic Law and can claim political asylum. Refugees are legally considered persons who are entitled to international protection under the Geneva Refugee Convention. According to this document, anyone who is persecuted in their home country "on account of race, nationality, religion, citizenship, membership of a particular social group (including on grounds of sexual orientation) or because of political opinions" and therefore must leave it can apply for asylum in Germany.
Restrictions on obtaining asylum in Germany
Not every unlawful act by the state, even if it affects one of the aforementioned characteristics, is a reason for granting asylum, states the website of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).
To qualify for refugee status, it must, firstly, be a targeted offense which, secondly, is entirely aimed at isolating the victims in society. Furthermore, it must be such a gross violation that it goes far beyond what a resident of that state would normally have to endure. As a rule, only persecution by the state is taken into account.
Exceptions may apply when there are grounds to assume that persecution not by the state is organized or condoned by the authorities. Crisis situations – such as poverty, hunger, civil war, natural disasters, or lack of prospects at home – are generally not reasons for obtaining political asylum in Germany, states the BAMF website.
Asylum on humanitarian grounds
However, those fleeing war and violence may still be granted asylum on humanitarian grounds, which also allows them to obtain official refugee status. At the height of the migration crisis in Germany in 2015, citizens of Syria and Eritrea fell under these categories.
However, in November 2016, the Higher Administrative Court of the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein ruled that Syrian citizens who left the country due to the civil war can only count on subsidiary protection. This status is granted for one year with the possibility of further extension and does not include the right to family reunification during the first two years.
When asylum is excluded
As BAMF explains, asylum is excluded if a person entered Germany via a "safe third country." According to German asylum law, all EU states, as well as Switzerland and Norway, are recognized as such. Asylum will also not be granted if the person cannot be returned to that third country because it was not stated in the application by the applicant. This is done in accordance with the Dublin Agreement, concluded by EU member states in 2003. Its basic principle states: the asylum application must be examined in the first EU country whose border the applicant crossed.
Furthermore, a foreigner cannot receive asylum if they have committed a war crime or serious criminal offense outside Germany, or have committed acts contrary to the principles and purposes of the UN, pose a threat to the security of the German state, or if they represent a public danger because they have been sentenced to imprisonment for a particularly serious crime.
What are "safe countries of origin"?
Initially, little chance of obtaining asylum in Germany have people from so-called "safe countries of origin." According to the law, these are countries in which "neither political persecution nor inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment of people takes place." However, this does not mean that an asylum seeker from such a country will be immediately deported from Germany: if the foreigner provides evidence of their political persecution, it will in any case be examined on an individual basis.
In general, however, applications from citizens of "safe countries of origin" are usually rejected. At the beginning of 2018, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia were added to the list of "safe countries" to which deportation is permitted under a simplified procedure. Earlier, this list was expanded to include Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Albania, Kosovo, and Montenegro. In addition, all other countries fall into this list if the proportion of their citizens receiving asylum in Germany does not exceed five percent of the total number of applicants.
Asylum seekers
Asylum seekers are people who have submitted a corresponding application and are waiting for a response from the authorities of the host country. In Germany, the decision on granting refugee status is made by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).
Until they receive a response, applicants can only live in refugee reception centers and are not entitled to work. Usually, an application is processed within three months, but at the height of the migration crisis, they had to wait up to a year for a response from BAMF. A foreigner who receives refugee status is entitled to stay in Germany for three years and can look for work. After this period, the refugee status is rechecked.
What happens if an applicant is rejected?
Since 2016, officials of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees have been processing applications from migrants who have little chance of obtaining asylum on an accelerated basis. One week is allotted for processing their applications. In the event of a negative response, the foreigner faces expulsion from Germany: he must leave the refugee reception center within three weeks.
BAMF's decision, however, can be challenged in court. At the same time, denial of asylum does not automatically mean loss of the right to stay in the country. For a number of reasons, an applicant can legally avoid deportation. For example, if a refugee does not have a passport or his state of health does not allow him to travel, he is granted a temporary suspension of deportation (Duldung). This also applies to minor asylum seekers who entered the EU without adult accompaniment.
Who are "contingent refugees"?
According to German law, "contingent refugees" (Kontingentflüchtlinge) are refugees from crisis regions of the world who were accepted by Germany as part of international humanitarian aid acts. In particular, this refers to certain groups of foreigners who received this right for humanitarian reasons or in connection with "political interests of Germany."
In 1975, about 30,000 Vietnamese who fled South Vietnam after the establishment of a communist regime there received the status of "contingent refugees." And since the 1990s, this status has been granted to emigrants of Jewish origin from the republics of the former Soviet Union.