Reception - Germany | DIP EUAA
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Germany is bound by the recast Reception Conditions Directive and has transposed its provisions through the Asylum Act, Asylgesetz (AsylG).
2 September 2008: Germany transposes the recast Reception Conditions Directive by the Asylum Act | Asylgesetz ((AsylG)
| Authority responsible for reception | Federal states are responsible for the reception and accommodation of refugees and asylum-seekers, as well as for the provision of benefits. Though there are both national and federal states’ regulations regarding the reception of asylum seekers, the administrative implementation is the exclusive responsibility of the federal states. The majority of federal states have referred responsibility for accommodation to municipalities. The responsible authorities can decide whether the management of the centres is carried out by the local governments or whether this is transferred to NGOs or facility management companies (third-party private companies). |
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| Other actors involved | The everyday running of the activities and services is often outsourced to NGOs, CSOs and reception management companies. |
Reception in Germany falls under the responsibility of the 16 Länder. The organisational charts of the ministries responsible are available on their websites:
Baden-Württemberg
Ministerium der Justiz und für Migration
www.justiz-bw.de
Bayern
Bayerisches Staatsministerium des Innern, für Sport und Integration
www.berlin.de/sen/asgiva/
Berlin
Senatsverwaltung für Arbeit, Soziales, Gleichstellung, Integration, Vielfalt und Antidiskriminierung
www.berlin.de/sen/ias
Brandenburg
Ministerium des Innern und für Kommunales des Landes Brandenburg
www.mik.brandenburg.de
Bremen
Die Senatorin für Soziales, Jugend, Frauen, Integration und Sport
www.soziales.bremen.de
Hamburg
Behörde für Inneres und Sport
https://www.hamburg.de/innenbehoerde/
Hessen
Hessisches Ministerium für Arbeit, Integration, Jugend und Soziales
soziales.hessen.de
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Ministerium für Inneres, Bau und Digitalisierung Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
https://www.regierung-mv.de/Landesregierung/im/
Niedersachsen
Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Inneres und Sport
https://www.mi.niedersachsen.de/startseite/
Nordrhein-Westfalen
Ministerium für Kinder, Jugend, Familie, Gleichstellung, Flucht und Integration des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen
https://www.mkjfgfi.nrw/
Rheinland-Pfalz
Ministerium für Familie, Frauen, Kultur und, Integration
https://mffki.rlp.de/
Saarland
Ministerium für Inneres, Bauen und Sport
www.saarland.de
Sachsen
Sächsisches Staatsministerium des Innern
https://www.smi.sachsen.de/
Sachsen-Anhalt
Ministerium für Inneres und Sport des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt
https://mi.sachsen-anhalt.de/
Schleswig-Holstein
Ministerium für Soziales, Jugend, Familie, Senioren, Integration und Gleichstellung des Landes Schleswig-Holstein
https://www.schleswig-holstein.de/DE/landesregierung/ministerien-behoerden/VIII/viii_node.html
Thüringen
Thüringer Ministerium für Inneres und Kommunales
https://innen.thueringen.de/
A centralised data collection system, EASY (Erstverteilung Asylbewerber), is used to distribute refugees and asylum seekers among federal states and to collect data on the availability of places in the initial/first reception centres across Germany.
The system is based on a quota system called Königsteiner Schlüssel, which allocates a share of asylum applicants to each federal state, based on tax receipts and population numbers. The distribution quota is calculated on an annual basis by the Joint Science Conference (Gemeinsame Wissenschaftskonferenz – GWK) and takes into consideration two-thirds tax revenue and one-third population of the Länder. This ensures a suitable and fair distribution among federal states.
In principle, the distribution algorithm follows Section 46(2) of the Asylum Act (AsylG) and, in addition to the responsibility of the individual federal states for the countries of origin, takes into account their target/actual deviation from the admission obligation (actual variance), which is calculated on the basis of the quota according to the Königstein Key.
Detailed information about distribution quotas for each federal states is available here
Information is currently not available.
The provision of reception conditions is triggered upon registering an application for international protection and the simultaneous issuing of the proof of arrival (Ankunftsnachweis) at the reception facility, arrival centre or branch office of the Federal Office (BAMF).
Asylum applicants are generally obliged to stay in the Initial Reception Centres (Erstaufnahmeeinrichtung, Ankunftszentren or AnkER facilities, depending on the federal state) for up to 6 months after they have filed their asylum application. However, following a legislative reform in July 2017, federal states are allowed to impose an obligation on applicants to stay in initial reception centres for up to 24 months. Following the Asylum Acceleration Law of October 2015, asylum seekers from safe countries of origin must stay in an initial reception centre for the entire duration of the asylum procedure (Section 47(1a) Asylum Act).
All steps necessary for the asylum procedure are carried out in the arrival centre, including the medical examination, the recording of personal data and the identity check, the application, the interview and the Federal Office’s decision on the asylum application, as well as initial integration measures.
Once the obligation to stay in the initial reception centre ends, applicants should be accommodated in a collective accommodation centres (Section 53 Asylum Act). Collective and decentralised accommodation is under the responsibility of the federal states or the municipalities. Some federal states prefer to accommodate asylum-seekers in decentralised accommodation (apartments, flats, etc.). Most federal states have special facilities for the reception of vulnerable groups, in particular unaccompanied minors and traumatised persons.
In principle, it is possible for asylum seekers to apply to be allocated to a particular town or district, but such applications are only successful in highly exceptional cases (e.g. if a rare medical condition requires that an asylum seeker must stay close to a particular hospital).
Capacity planning is organised by each federal state. In case of an emergency or a large number of arrivals, there is an emergency reaction in each federal state and coordination between the federal states and the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.
There are three types of accommodation for asylum seekers:
- Initial reception centres, including arrival centres, AnkER facilities and special reception centres;
- Collective accommodation centres;
- Decentralised accommodation.
Initial reception facilities (Erstaufnahmeeinrichtung): All arriving migrants must register and report their arrival with a state organisation (Section 22 Asylum Act), either at the border, where they will be allocated to an initial reception facility, or within the country. Besides reporting to a security authority (e.g. the police), immigration authority or with a reception facility, they can also directly register with the initial reception facilities, the Arrival Centres (Ankunftszentren) or AnkER facilities, depending on each respective facility of the federal state.
Arrival centres (Ankunftszentren): Arrival centres are facilities established by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) in coordination with each respective federal state (Bundesland). They serve as a contact point for newly arriving migrants who have not yet been able to lodge an asylum application. The arrival centres are the central entry point when it comes to the asylum procedure since all necessary steps for the asylum procedure will be carried out there, including the medical examination, the recording of the personal data and the identity check, the application, the interview and the Federal Office’s decision on the asylum application, as well as initial integration measures. The migrants receive an arrival certificate (Ankunftsnachweis), attesting the registration of their intention to apply for asylum.
AnkER facilities: The fundamental concept underlying arrival centres was further enhanced with the AnkER and functionally equivalent facilities (the acronym AnkER stands for arrival, decision and return facilities). AnkER facilities are initial reception centres hosting asylum seekers for a period of up to 24 months and fall within the scope of initial reception centres (Aufnahmeeinrichtungen) (Section 47 Asylum Act). The key element of the AnkER concept is the bundling of all the functions and responsibilities from the asylum application and the decision to the allocation to municipalities and initial measures to prepare for the integration or the return of asylum applicants. All role players directly involved in the asylum process are present in the AnkER facility. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees currently has branch offices in nine AnkER facilities and eight functionally equivalent facilities. In the coalition agreement for the 20th legislative period of the German parliament, the SPD, the Alliance 90/The Greens and the FDP have decided not to continue with the AnkER concept.
Collective accommodation centres (Gemeinschaftsunterkunft): The centres are shared accommodation facilities which are decentralised for applicants who no longer have to live in the initial reception centres and who are waiting for the decision on their application (Section 53 Asylum Act).
Decentralised accommodation: Accommodation for applicants in private houses, flats, hotels, etc.
Emergency accommodation (Notunterkünfte): Largely used in 2015 and 2016, now mostly closed down, with a few local exceptions remaining (e.g. in Berlin, Bavaria).
| Name of the reception facility | Reception facilities at the airport transit area of 5 airports |
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| Access description | Closed |
| Management | Federal police/Federal Office for Migration and Refugees |
| Type of applicants accommodated | Applicants in the airport/border procedure |
| Number of centres | 5 centres |
| Capacity | Information not available |
| Location of the centres within the country | Airports of Berlin-Schönefeld, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt/Main, Hamburg and Munich. |
| Name of the reception facility |
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|---|---|
| Regime | Open |
| Management | Federal states |
| Type of applicants accommodated | Applicants awaiting a final decision; persons who received a final decision rejecting the application but who have been granted a tolerated stay (Duldung); persons who were granted international protection and temporary residence permits. |
| Number of centres | 36 initial reception centres (Erstaufnahmeeinrichtung) of which:
|
| Capacity | Capacity depends on each federal state |
| Location of the centres within the country | At least one initial reception centre (Erstaufnahmeeinrichtung or Ankunftszentrum) for each federal state (locations - Standorte des Bundesamtes). 19 arrival centres (Ankunftszentren) in:
9 AnkER facilities:
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| Name of the reception facility | Collective accommodation centres (Gemeinschaftsunterkunft) |
|---|---|
| Regime | Open |
| Management | Federal states and municipalities which can outsource the daily management to NGOs and private companies |
| Type of applicants accommodated | Applicants awaiting a final decision; persons who received a final decision rejecting the application but have been granted a tolerated stay (Duldung); persons who were granted international protection and temporary residence permits. |
| Number of centres | Information not currently available |
| Capacity | Capacity depends on each federal state. According to Section 44 (1) of the Asylum Act (AsylG), the Bundesländer are required to provide the necessary number of places in the reception centres for newly arrived persons requesting asylum per month allocated to them on the basis of their respective admission quotas (Königstein key). |
| Location of the centres within the country | In all 16 federal states (Bundesländer) in line with the Distribution Key (Königsteiner Schlüssel) |
| Name of the reception facility | Decentralised accommodation |
|---|---|
| Regime | Open |
| Management | Federal states and municipalities, which can outsource to NGOs and management companies |
| Type of applicants accommodated | Applicants awaiting a final decision; persons who received a final decision rejecting the application but have been granted a tolerated stay (Duldung); Persons who were granted international protection and temporary residence permits. |
| Number of centres | Information not available |
| Capacity | Information not available |
| Location of the centres within the country | In all 16 federal states in line with the Distribution Key (Königsteiner Schlüssel) |
| Name of the reception facility | Emergency centres (Notunterkünfte) (largely used in 2015 and 2016, now mostly closed down with a few exceptions due to the COVID-19 situation) |
|---|---|
| Regime | Open |
| Management | Information not available |
| Type of applicants accommodated | Information not available |
| Number of centres | Information not available |
| Capacity | Information not available |
| Location of the centres within the country | Mainly in Berlin, Baden-Württemberg |
Section 44(2a) of the Asylum Act requires federal states to have measures and provide specific support to ensure the protection of women and vulnerable persons in initial reception centres.
There is no systematic assessment procedure for vulnerable persons, although special needs are to be taken into account as part of the admission procedure.
AnkER centres and functionally equivalent reception centres usually provide for separate accommodation for women and other applicants with special needs. Some AnkER centres and functionally equivalent centres have separate accommodation for LGBTIQ persons. Several cities, authorities and NGOs also have opened specialised accommodation centres for LGBTIQ persons.
Unaccompanied children are placed by the Youth Welfare Office which ensures that they are accommodated with a suitable person (e.g. foster family, relatives) or in a suitable facility (‘clearing houses’ specialised in caring for unaccompanied minors, or youth welfare facilities). Unaccompanied minors do not generally stay where they have arrived as they can be sent to other places throughout Germany as part of the quota distribution system (Königsteiner Schlüssel).
Initial screening is carried out when minors are provisionally taken into care and the responsible Youth Welfare Office estimates whether the implementation of the subsequent distribution procedure may endanger the child’s best interests in physical or psychological terms. Furthermore, the possibility of family reunification with relatives living in Germany is also examined in this context.
The nature and amount of the benefits are regulated by the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act (Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz), including basic benefits such as food, housing, heating, clothing, healthcare and personal hygiene, household durables and consumables, benefits to cover personal daily requirements, benefits in case of sickness, pregnancy and birth, as well as individual benefits, depending on the individual case.
| Type and purpose | Food, housing, heating, clothing, healthcare and personal hygiene, household durables and consumables, benefits to cover personal daily requirements, benefits in case of sickness, pregnancy and birth, and also individual benefits depending on the individual case. |
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| Duration and recurrence | Material reception conditions are provided in kind for the entire asylum procedure, including appeals. |
| Type and purpose | Basic benefits (Grundleistungen): Assistance under the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act which cover costs for food, accommodation, heating, clothing, personal hygiene and consumer goods for the household as well as the personal needs of everyday life, such as public transport and mobile phones (Section 3 (1) Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act) |
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| Duration and recurrence | Basic benefits are paid monthly for the entire asylum procedure, including appeals. |
| Calculation and amount | Monthly financial allowance/vouchers granted are laid down in Section 3a of the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act) |
| Applicants granted allowance | All applicants falling under the categories of Section 1 of the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act. |
| Modalities of provision | Information is currently not available |
Specialised treatment for traumatised asylum seekers and victims of torture (Treatment Centres for Victims of Torture – Behandlungszentren für Folteropfer)
| Modalities of information provision on benefits and obligations related to reception conditions | Initial reception centres hand out leaflets on how to receive advice or assistance, while UNHCR is entitled by law to visit applicants. Other NGOs may also visit the centres with limitations. The Federal Office has been piloting a two-stage model of asylum procedure counselling in the AnkER since August 2018, and is now operating at 16 locations of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, in 14 AnkER facilities, as well as facilities with comparable functions, in the federal states of Bavaria, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the Saarland, Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. |
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| Provision of legal assistance on the reception conditions available | Information is currently not available |
| House rules | Information is currently not available |
| Assignment of a particular area of residence to applicants | Normally applicants are allocated within the territory of the federal state of the place of accommodation, but can be assigned to a certain town or district for the first 3 months. Federal states can determine that asylum seekers and refugees are obliged to live in certain areas for 3 years. |
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| Reporting obligations | Those in an initial reception centre must report to security personnel when leaving and re-entering. In most federal states, they need special permission to travel, both within the federal state and outside to other parts of Germany. |
| Time limit to access the labour market | Generally asylum applicants are not allowed to take paid employment as long as they are required to stay in an initial reception centre, arrival centre or AnkER facility. In principle, labour market access is possible in the following cases:
If the applicant is not from a safe country of origin and the application has not been rejected as clearly unfounded or inadmissible, after 9 months the applicant may be given the right to work by the Federal Employment Agency. |
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| Criteria to access the labour market | The right to work is noted in the residence permit, which is issued by the responsible Foreigners’ Authority. There are no costs to be covered by the asylum applicant. A work permit is generally a prerequisite. The employer hiring a foreigner must check the work permit and keep a copy of the residence permit certificate for the duration of the employment. Asylum seekers are not allowed to be self-employed; they have to apply for an employment permit by proving that there is a concrete job offer. All job centres (Arbeitsämter) review labour conditions. |
| Employment support for applicants | Asylum applicants are counselled while their application is being processed about attending the Federal Office’s integration courses where they live. They receive advice on the potential for access to the labour market. Counsellors from the Federal Employment Agency collect the applicants’ personal data in the arrival centres. Those data are available to the employment agencies and job centres all over the country. |
| Adults’ access to vocational training | Assisted training and pre-vocational training programmes are available sooner to those with good prospects of remaining. The vocational training grant and training stipend is available to certain groups. Vocational training is not allowed for those staying in an initial reception centre (time limit 6 months) or for those from safe country of origin. In order to start vocational training, asylum seekers need an employment permit; the fact that initial residence permit is issued for only 6 months limits the offer of vocational training from employers. Beneficiaries maintain the tolerated person status for the entire training, irrespective of their age. Applicants who eventually are granted refugee status (3 years residence permit) who also complete vocational training are entitled to residence in Germany for a further two years (the "3+2 rule") if they find a job that reflects their new qualification. |
| Access to tertiary education | Federal state laws regulate access to higher education (e.g. entrance qualifications, German language skills, etc.). Asylum applicants with a permission to stay (Aufenthaltsgestattung) or tolerated stay (Duldung) have the same access to university as other foreign nationals. |
| Medical screening | Asylum applicants are placed in a reception centre where a medical examination is undertaken for communicable diseases. In addition, healthcare benefits will be granted for acute illness or acute states of pain. |
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| Level of healthcare | During the first 36 months of their stay, asylum applicants are entitled to "necessary or essential" health care. The resulting costs are borne by the responsible social welfare office. This care includes:
Other healthcare benefits that are indispensable for securing livelihood or health can also be granted in accordance with the statutory provisions. These include, for example, the decision on necessary medical remedies and aids, such as glasses, wheelchairs but also the granting of psychotherapy or the carrying out of an MRI. After 36 months of stay there is an entitlement to the range of services of the statutory health insurance, which is also responsible for billing. The costs therefore are still borne by the responsible social welfare office. |
| Access to healthcare | Applicants in an initial reception centre receive a health insurance voucher (Krankenschein). Once in collective or decentralised accommodation, they may receive a regular health insurance card, depending on the hosting federal state (5 out of 16 distribute them), giving access to the necessary care. |
Children can access education after 3 or 6 months (same as for accessing employment). All children residing in Germany have the right and the obligation to attend school, regardless of their status. Compulsory education ends at the age of 16 or 17, as regulated at federal state level for Germans. Important distinctions may apply in law and in practice since the education system falls under the responsibility of federal states. Some initial reception centres have educational offers or provide state-organised schooling in the reception facilities.
| Access to socio-cultural orientation | Each integration course consists of a language course and an orientation course. The general integration course comprises 700 lesson units. Depending on the orientation of the course that applies to the applicant, the course may last for up to 1,000 lessons in total. Applicants who already have a good starting point may also take the integration course as a fast-track course consisting of 430 lesson units. The following asylum applicants are eligible to participate in integration courses.
Applicants attend the orientation course following on from the language course which takes 100 lesson hours to complete. The fast-track course version lasts 30 lesson units. The orientation course covers topics, such as:
The orientation course is completed by taking the "Life in Germany" test. More information about orientation courses for asylum applicants are available here from BAMF |
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| Language classes | The German language course forms part of the integration course and takes up a total of 600 lesson units (with special courses up to 900 lesson units). The fast-track course consists of 400 lesson units. The language course covers aspects of everyday life including:
The course also includes aspects such as how to write letters and e-mails in German, complete forms, make telephone calls and apply for jobs. Topics covered in the language course vary depending on which type of course the applicant attends, e.g. a youth integration course will cover topics that are of particular interest to young people such as applying for an apprenticeship. The final stage of the language course consists of the "German language test for immigrants". More information about language courses for asylum applicants are available here from BAMF |
Applicants with sufficient means are, in principle, requested to use their own resources to secure accommodation and livelihood.
If beneficiaries living in collective accommodation work and have an income, the authorities can impose fees as a contribution to the operational costs of the centres or reduce the benefits.
Information is currently not available.
According to Section 1a of the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act (Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz), material reception conditions can be reduced to the basic necessary benefits only in the following circumstances:
- A person is under the duty to leave but has not left the country until a certain date, although this would have been feasible;
- A person who has entered Germany (solely) for the purpose of receiving benefits and whose obligation to leave is enforceable or who is in possession of a ‘tolerated stay’.
- A person’s removal procedure had been scheduled but could not be carried out and the person is responsible for this fact;
- A person has been allocated to a different EU Member State under an EU redistribution mechanism (such as the EU relocation scheme, but not including Dublin cases);
- A person has already been granted international protection in another EU Member State or in another EU Dublin State or has been granted residence right for another reason;
Applicants or persons with a subsequent asylum application (unless they are not responsible for the breach of the duty):
- applicants who fail to fulfil their general duty of cooperation with the authorities;
- Applicants who fail to submit any documents that they carry in order to clarify their identity;
- Applicants who fail to respect the deadline for lodging their application with BAMF;
- Applicants who fail to provide the necessary information, documents for the purposes of the asylum procedure.
- Applicants who intentionally or through gross negligence do not use up assets before claiming benefits under the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act.
Some of the reception rights may also be curtailed when applicants come from a safe country of origin or when their application was rejected as manifestly unfounded or as inadmissible: they are not entitled to the limited form of integration and education measures or to a work permit after three months.
Information is currently not available.
Information is currently not available.