Procedures for certain groups of asylum-seekers are to be speeded up, new reception facilities created and some refugees will not be able to bring in their families to Germany for a fixed period of time.
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These are the main points of the second asylum package, which has now been adopted. The Cabinet has also classed Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia as safe countries of origin.
The new reception facilities are to be responsible for the complete asylum proceedings. Asylum-seekers can also be deported directly from the initial reception facilities.
The new legislation specifies groups of asylum-seekers for whom the accelerated procedure can be used: they will include asylum-seekers from states classed as safe countries, those submitting a repeat request for asylum and asylum-seekers who do not cooperate during the asylum procedure. Applicants will be deemed unwilling to cooperate if, for instance, they conceal their true identity or refuse to be finger-printed.
Operations are to be streamlined such that the asylum procedure can be completed within a week. Should refugees wish to take legal action to contest the rejection of their request for asylum, these legal proceedings too are to be finalised within two weeks.
Until the accelerated procedure is completed, asylum-seekers will be required to stay in the initial reception facilities. Individuals will receive benefits only once they have been properly registered in the reception facility, and provided they comply with the new stricter residence requirements.
To allow Germany to cope better with the massive influx of refugees, the families of asylum-seekers entitled to subsidiary protection will not be permitted to follow them to Germany for a period of two years. This regulation will apply to all individuals with subsidiary protection issued with a residence permit after the legislation comes into force.
When she presented this compromise Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed, "After this period, the legal position will revert to the position as it was on 1 August 2015. We have agreed that we will primarily encourage families of asylum-seekers to follow the latter to Germany within the scope of the contingents still to be agreed from Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan."
Subsidiary protection is afforded to individuals who cannot be granted asylum or recognised as refugees, although they cannot be deported for humanitarian reasons. Individuals entitled to subsidiary protection under the provisions of the Asylum Act, Section 4 (1) are issued with a residence permit in line with the provisions laid out in the second option presented in sentence 1 of Section 25 (2) of the Residence Act.
The monthly cash sums provided for individual needs pursuant to the Asylum-Seekers’ Benefits Act are to be modified, taking into account the constitutional guidelines regarding minimum subsistence levels. For an unmarried benefit recipient this will translate as a ten-euro reduction in benefits per month.
Often unsuccessful asylum-seekers submit medical certificates to avoid deportation. To counter any abuse, the legislation lays out specific requirements. Deportation will be possible even if the medical care in the country of destination is not equivalent to that in Germany.
Only life-threatening or serious illnesses, which would be significantly worsened as a result of deportation, will be considered valid reasons in future. A suitably qualified medical practitioner will in future have to issue a certificate laying out credible medical grounds that preclude deportation.
Frequently individuals cannot be deported because they have no papers. A new organisation is to be created that will be responsible for procuring replacement travel documents. This will allow the federal police to support the federal states more effectively with deportations.
Legal minors who are housed in reception facilities and shared accommodation are to be better protected. People working in these facilities will need a full police clearance certificate in future.
The Cabinet has decided on formulation assistance for an amendment to the law, which is to be provided by the parliamentary groups represented in the coalition.
The Cabinet has also agreed to class more counties as safe countries of origin. Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia are to be classed as safe countries of origin under the provisions of the Asylum Act, Section 29a. The aim is to speed up asylum proceedings for citizens of these states, thus significantly reducing the length of time asylum-seekers spend in Germany.
The classification as safe country of origin must be approved by the Bundesrat, the second chamber of the German parliament.
Safe countries of origin are countries in which general political conditions are such that there is a legal presumption that there is no political persecution or inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment.