- Discussion on home visits by refugees
Rumors persist that refugees may temporarily return to their home countries even without legally valid reasons. The case of asylum seekers from Afghanistan has reignited this discussion, although no official numbers are available. The background is an investigation by RTL which suggests that travel agencies in Hamburg are allegedly organizing trips to the Hindukush for people from Afghanistan.
The Federal Government's Commissioner for Migration, Joachim Stamp (FDP), now warns refugees against traveling to their home countries for leisure or vacation purposes. He told Bild: "Germany must remain open-minded, but not foolish. The authorities must ensure that people who have applied for protection here, but are vacationing in their home country, immediately lose their protected status and cannot remain in Germany. Period."
Protected status after home trips is being reviewed
Travel to the country of origin can indeed be permissible in individual cases - for example, due to a serious illness or the death of close family members. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) in Nuremberg states that it reviews each case on an individual basis to determine whether the granted protection should be withdrawn.
However, the authority does not have exact data on how often protection has been revoked. The Bamf publishes a general statistic on protection reviews, which also take place for other reasons than home trips. However, there is no detailed breakdown of why a review or revocation of the protection decision was or is being considered.
On the admissibility of home trips, a spokesperson said: "The Bamf generally assumes, in line with case law, that these are only permitted under specific conditions." For example, a brief return trip to fulfill a moral obligation - such as attending a funeral or visiting a seriously ill family member - is not a reason for revocation.
Home visits have been publicly discussed before
Debates about home visits by people seeking protection in Germany have taken place in previous years, for example, with regard to trips by people from Syria. In 2017, an AfD application in the Baden-Württemberg state parliament caused a stir, calling for an investigation into home stays by refugees.
The Interior Ministry then reported, based on a survey of foreigner authorities, that around 160 cases had been known since 2014 in which people had returned to their home countries once or more. A certain degree of underreporting is assumed. Personal, family, or business reasons were mentioned as examples.
In 2017, the North Rhine-Westphalia state government replied to a minor interpellation that, according to its findings, the refugees in question did not travel to their home countries to "vacation" there.
The Federal Government's warning against non-essential home visits is supported by Joachim Stamp, the FDP's Commissioner for Migration. He emphasizes that refugees who return to their home countries for leisure or vacation purposes may lose their protected status. The Bamf, however, considers permissible home trips under specific conditions, such as attending a funeral or visiting a seriously ill family member.
