Asylum procedure

You will receive a certificate of arrival or proof of arrival at the reception center. This official document entitles you to stay and to certain benefits.

Your stay in the initial reception center may last several months, and you may have to change facilities, for example for the purpose of family reunification.

During the first 3 months of your stay, you are subject to the residence obligation and may not take up employment. In general, you will only receive a work permit after this period if you can provide clear proof of your identity.

During this initial period, you will receive benefits in kind and cash benefits in accordance with the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act. These will also be granted to you if you move into collective accommodation or an apartment.

You will not receive any other benefits while your application for asylum is being processed.

In Thuringia, you will be distributed from the initial reception center in Suhl (as of 06/2017) to other locations in Thuringia even if your procedure has not yet been completed.

As an asylum applicant, you must take up residence in the place specified in the allocation decision.

The so-called residence obligation is a requirement for asylum seekers and tolerated persons living in Germany. It obliges those concerned to stay only in the area specified by the competent authority. The residence obligation applies as long as your application for asylum has not yet been decided, generally for the first 3 months of your stay and for a maximum of 6 months after that if you continue to live in an initial reception center.

Your residence permit will state which living area is specified.

Different spatial restrictions apply from state to state. In Bavaria, for example, there is a residence obligation within the respective administrative district, while in Thuringia there is freedom of movement throughout the state.

For this reason, asylum seekers and tolerated persons must apply for a permit or vacation certificate from the local foreigners authority if they wish to travel outside Thuringia. You should never leave Thuringia without this permit, as this violation is punishable by penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment and can also have a negative impact on your asylum application.

You apply for asylum in person, usually directly after entering the country and at the latest after your arrival at the initial reception center. In Thuringia, the application is made in Suhl.

Interpreters will be on hand to assist you at this appointment. Ideally, you should present all the documents that you were able to bring with you to Germany. Identity cards, birth certificates and driving licenses prove your nationality.

Your documents will be checked and the Dublin procedure will also be initiated. This involves checking whether Germany is really responsible for your asylum application or whether it is the responsibility of another country through which you may have entered the country.

The personal interview is the most important appointment in your asylum procedure. It forms the basis for the Federal Office's decision on your application. This is where you present your personal reasons for your asylum application.

If you are unable to attend this appointment or can only do so late, you must make this fact known in good time and provide evidence. Otherwise your application will be rejected.

Your details will be translated and recorded and can be checked by you again afterwards.

If you can prove your curriculum vitae and the reasons for your flight with documents, photos or medical records, this will support your application.

The average duration of an asylum procedure nationwide is currently 6 to 8 months.

In times of high refugee migration, longer processing times for asylum procedures can certainly occur.

According to Section 2 (1) of the Thuringian Refugee Reception Act, refugees should generally be accommodated in shared accommodation.

However, the current state government has agreed decentralized accommodation in apartments as a key objective in the coalition agreement.

In Jena, decentralized accommodation is provided throughout the city in a mixture of shared accommodation and apartments. In principle, it is at the discretion of the Social Services Department whether accommodation is provided in shared accommodation or in an apartment.

In principle, it is assumed that a family - even if the children are over 18 years old - will be accommodated together.

In addition to the refugees accommodated by the local authority, there are other refugees for whom the local authority is no longer obliged to provide accommodation and who therefore live in apartments they have rented themselves.

If you are found to be in need of protection, your asylum application was successful and you will receive a residence permit from your immigration authority. There are 3 forms of protection:

1. refugee protection
2. subsidiary protection
3. entitlement to asylum.

If you cannot be granted protection, the Federal Office will check whether a ban on deportation for health, humanitarian or political reasons applies to you. In this case, you can still obtain a residence permit.

The forms of protection result in 4 possible residence titles. Persons who pose a threat to security for certain reasons are generally not granted a residence permit.

Once you have received a positive asylum decision, you do not have to contact the immigration authorities immediately. The Federal Office will inform them of your recognition.

The foreigners authority will then issue a certificate of your provisional, fictitious right of residence with the provisions for taking up employment as quickly as possible. You will receive this fictitious certificate by post to your registration address, an application form for your residence permit and an appointment at the Foreigners' Registration Office to submit your application.

You may also receive an authorization or obligation to attend an integration course. Your responsible social worker will automatically be informed of the recognition by the Foreigners' Registration Office.

A spontaneous visit to the Foreigners' Registration Office will not speed up the procedure!

If your application is rejected, you will receive a notice to leave the country. You must comply with requests to leave the country or can seek advice on further steps.

If there are circumstances that suggest that you should postpone your departure, a tolerated stay will be issued. These circumstances must not be presented at the time of deportation, as they must then be ignored, except for the most serious ones.

The residence regulation in accordance with § 12a of the Residence Act obliges you to live in the federal state in which you have undergone the asylum procedure. The residence regulation can also be accompanied by a residence requirement.

The residence regulation is valid for 3 years and applies to anyone who was or is granted a form of protection in the period between 01.01.2016 and 05.08.2019.

Under certain conditions, it can be lifted upon application so that you can move your main place of residence to another federal state.

Cancellation

The residence regulation does not apply if you enter into an employment relationship subject to social insurance contributions with at least 15 hours per week and a minimum net salary of 723 euros.

The residence regulation is also waived if you secure your livelihood independently of social benefits. Exceptions are also accepted in favor of training or studies.

Even if your spouse or partner or your underage child lives in another federal state, you may move in with these relatives.

Cases of hardship that make a move necessary for health or safety reasons can also be recognized.

In some federal states in Germany, the residence requirement is applied in that you can be assigned a specific place of residence in this federal state.

You may also be prohibited from moving to urban areas. This is to avoid overloading the integration services in certain regions.

A residence requirement can be lifted under similar conditions to the residence regulation.

Currently, the residence requirement does not apply after the asylum procedure in Thuringia and you can take up residence within Thuringia with your positive asylum decision, regardless of the form of protection granted, no matter where you wish.