Berlin (Reuters) – Foreigners who are only tolerated in Germany should in future be granted a right to stay in the Federal Republic more easily.
This is provided for in a draft law by Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, which the cabinet passed on Wednesday. According to this, rejected asylum seekers should still be able to obtain a right to stay via the so-called change of lanes. For example, people who have been tolerated, permitted or have lived in Germany with a residence permit for five years on January 1, 2022 should be able to acquire a one-year “opportunity right of residence”. The federal government wants to “actively shape migration and integration instead of simply managing it reluctantly, as it has done in the past 16 years,” said Faeser.
“We’re creating a real change of perspective,” said Faeser. The SPD politician emphasized that this would end the “unfortunate chain toleration” that had been common up to now. Within one year, people can fulfill the other requirements for a right to stay. If it can then be proven that there is sufficient knowledge of German and that they can earn a living, the people are allowed to stay permanently. As of December 31, 2021, 242,029 tolerated foreigners were staying in Germany, 136,605 of them for more than five years. Criminals and persons who have demonstrably provided false information about their identity are not given this opportunity. In addition, offenders should be deported more consistently. Detention pending deportation is to be extended to six months from three months.
“A NEW BEGINNING IN MIGRATION POLICY”
Faeser said most of the people eligible for “Chancen-Residence” are able to work. In this respect, the step could also lead to an alleviation of the current shortage on the labor market. In this context, the bill also provides for skilled workers and their family members to be able to come to Germany more easily from abroad. In addition, access to language and integration courses is to be expanded. According to Faeser, the Volage is the first package to reform immigration and integration law in Germany. The minister announced that two more would follow.
The law must be passed by the Bundestag, the consent of the Bundesrat is not required. Positive reactions to the draft came from the coalition factions. The domestic policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Sebastian Hartmann, explained that this would set the course for a “new beginning in migration policy”. It is “incomprehensible when we send well-integrated people back to their home country and then laboriously recruit the urgently needed workers abroad,” said Hartmann, speaking of a “win-win solution.” For the FDP parliamentary group, the parliamentary secretary Stephan Thomea spoke of the “beginning of a paradigm shift in migration policy”.
(Report by Alexander Ratz; Edited by Kerstin Drr; If you have any questions, please contact [email protected])