Hardship Commission processes significantly fewer applications

Migration - Hardship Commission processes significantly fewer applications

The right of residence for migrants, which was introduced around a year ago, has led to considerable changes. Since then, the number of applications to the Hardship Commission in Baden-Württemberg has fallen significantly. People who are fighting for a residence permit can turn to the commission. "The number of applications has fallen significantly this year. This is largely due to the Opportunities Residence Act," said the Chairman of the Hardship Commission, Klaus Pavel.

He assumes that the number of applications will stabilize at around 250 by the end of the year. According to Pavel, there were 420 applications last year and 450 the year before.

The new Right of Residence Opportunity gives people who have been in Germany for at least five years on the cut-off date of October 1, 2022, either tolerated, permitted or with a residence permit, the opportunity to receive a type of probationary residence permit together with their relatives for 18 months. This does not apply to criminals and people who have repeatedly and deliberately provided false information about their identity, thereby preventing their deportation. At the end of the 18 months, those who are predominantly able to support themselves, have sufficient knowledge of German and can prove their identity will be granted a permanent right of residence.

The great response to the law, which came into force on December 31, 2022, was already evident in the middle of the year. According to a survey by Mediendienst Integration, at least 49,000 people had already submitted an application in the first six months since the change in the law came into force. Of these, around 17,000 applications had already been approved and around 2,100 applications rejected. Thousands of applications were still being processed at the time of the survey.

In Baden-Württemberg, the Chairman of the Hardship Commission assumes that around 80 percent of all recommendations made by the Commission will be approved by the Ministry of Justice by the end of the year. "The clearer cases go through the Opportunities Residence Act. We are now really only responsible for the difficult cases."

The Aliens Act cannot offer a satisfactory solution in all individual cases, said State Secretary Siegfried Lorek. "For these cases, the Hardship Commission provides an opportunity to take account of special humanitarian hardship cases." The Ministry of Justice and Migration aims to achieve a high approval rate. "In particular, the weighting of whether the person has not been convicted of any crimes in Germany plays a major role in the assessment," said Lorek.

The Baden-Württemberg Refugee Council expects the Ministry of Justice to take the decisions of the Hardship Commission into account even more than before. "As part of their voluntary work, the members of the commission take the time to deal intensively with the individual fates of the people concerned," said Anja Bartel from the association's office on Wednesday. Crimes committed by those affected must also always be assessed in the context of the overall biography and should not lead to a reflexive exclusion from residence options.

The assumption of a case of hardship is generally excluded if crimes of considerable weight have been committed or if there is a serious interest in deportation. This includes, for example, a prison sentence for an intentional offense against the Narcotics Act. "Unfortunately, we had some cases this year in which criminal offenses in connection with the Narcotics Act came to light," said Pavel. There were also some applicants who had committed bodily harm or theft.

The Hardship Commission can submit a hardship application to the Ministry of Justice for urgent humanitarian or personal reasons. The Ministry then decides whether the relevant authority should be instructed to grant the applicant a residence permit. The ten members of the commission are representatives of the churches, municipal state associations and independent personalities.

Integration media service

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1. Despite the significant drop in applications to the Hardship Commission in Baden-Württemberg due to the new Opportunities Residence Act, cases of special humanitarian hardship are still being addressed, as the Ministry of Justice and Migration acknowledges.
2. Last year, there were 420 applications to the Hardship Commission in Baden-Württemberg, but with the turn of the year, the new law led to a surge in applications, with over 49,000 people applying in the first six months.
3. Refugees in Baden-Württemberg who have been in Germany for at least five years can benefit from the Right to Residence Opportunity, which allows them to apply for a probationary residence permit for themselves and their relatives, provided they meet certain conditions, such as being able to support themselves and having sufficient knowledge of German.
4. The Minister of Justice in Baden-Württemberg is expected to take the decisions of the Hardship Commission more into account, as advocated by the Refugee Council, which emphasizes the importance of considering an applicant's overall biography when assessing any crimes they may have committed.
5. The Hardship Commission in Baden-Württemberg can submit an application for urgent humanitarian or personal reasons to the Ministry of Justice, which has the authority to grant a residence permit to the applicant if it deems it necessary, such as in cases involving serious crimes, like intentional offenses against the Narcotics Act or bodily harm.

Source: www.stern.de