Dieses Gesetz wurde geschrieben, damit politisch verfolgte Asylanten immer noch geschützt werden, während es Asylanten, die das Asylrecht unberechtigt ausnützen, daran hindern soll. Diese Asylanten, die offensichtlich nicht oder nicht mehr unter politischer Verfolgung leiden, kommen nicht mehr vor das Gericht mit langwierigen Prozessverhandlungen, um ihr Asylrecht zu bekommen. Das Gesetz wurde auch geschrieben, um den gerichtlichen Prozess schneller zu machen.
Die wichtigsten Punkte des Gesetzes:
— Asylanten, die von einem sicheren dritten Staat nach Deutschland wollen, werden nicht angenommen. Diese Staaten sind die EU Mitgliedsländer, Finnland, Norwegen, Österreich, Polen, Schweden und die Schweiz.
— Die deutsche Regierung darf eine Liste von sicheren Ländern aufstellen, wo keine politische Verfolgung stattfindet. Asylanten von diesen Ländern werden nicht angenommen.
— Asylbewerbungen dürfen abgelehnt werden, wenn wichtige Teile der Bewerbung nicht oder nicht ausreichend bewiesen sind. Die Bewerbungen werden auch abgelehnt, wenn der Asylant falsche Information über seine Identität und Staatsbürgerschaft gibt. Er wird auch nicht angenommen, wenn er den Asylprozess nicht akzeptiert oder wenn er als kriminell oder dem Staat gegenüber gefährlich bezeichnet wird. Wenn sie nicht angenommen werden, müssen Asylanten in einer Woche aus Deutschland ausreisen. Nach der Ablehnung von ihren Asylbewerbungen haben die Asylanten eine Woche, um sich noch mal zu bewerben. Spätestens nach einer Woche muss der Staat eine entgültige Entscheidung treffen.
— Asylanten, die am Flughafen ankommen, müssen da bleiben, bis sie Asyl bekommen. Wenn sie nicht angenommen werden, haben die Asylanten drei Tage, um sich wieder zu bewerben. Der Staat muss in einer Zeit von vierzehn Tagen eine Entscheidung treffen. Wenn der Staat innerhalb von drei Tagen nach der Ankunft und Anmeldung eines Asylanten keine Entscheidung treffen kann, wird der Asylant in das Land erlaubt.
— Sollte in einem Land Krieg oder Bürgerkrieg herrschen, werden Asylanten von diesen Ländern angenommen, aber nur für die Dauer des Krieges.
— Angenommene Asylanten haben auf vielen sozialen, wirtschaftlichen und legalen Gebieten die gleichen Rechte wie der deutsche Staatsbürger.
— Ehegatten und minderjährige Kinder von angenommene Asylanten haben die gleichen Rechte.
Gesetz über die Einreise und den Aufenhalt von Ausländern im Bundesgebiet
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(Das Gesetz auf Englisch)
Article 16a
Paragraph 1 reads exactly like the previously applicable Art. 16(2), second sentence of the Basic Law. The guarantee that protection against political persecution will be given continues to be an individual basic right.
Paragraph 2 precludes aliens entering through safe third countries from invoking the right of asylum. Safe third countries are all EC States and all other states where the implementation of the Geneva Convention on Refugees and of the European Convention on Human Rights is guaranteed. Under this provision the aliens concerned can be rejected at the border and immediately be brought back to the safe third country. Measures to terminate an alien's residence can be enforced irrespective of an appeal having been lodged against such measures.
Paragraph 3 enables the legislator to draft a list of countries of origin where freedom from persecution is refutably assumed. Freedom from persecution must as a general rule be given in the whole state.
As compared to the previous legal situation, paragraph 4 facilitates the enforcement of measures terminating the residence of aliens who have comefrom a safe country of origin or whose applications are manifestly unfounded for other reasons.
Under paragraph 5 the Federal Republic of Germany is enabled to ratify the Schengen Agreement and the Dublin Convention on the Right of Asylum with all rights and obligations thereunder. It can also conclude corresponding agreements with other states where the implementation of the Geneva Convention on Refugees and the European Convention on Human Rights is guaranteed.
The Law Amending Asylum Procedure, Aliens and Nationality Provisions (Federal Law Gazette 1, p. 1062) implements the new constitutional positions. It entered into force on 1 July 1993.
The main features of the amendment are as follows:
1. Principle of the "safe third state"
Under Section 26a of the Asylum Procedure Act, an alien may not invoke the basic right to asylum where he has entered the country via a safe third state. This allows the person in question to be turned back at the border or to be immediately returned to the third state. The measures to end such persons' stay may be implemented regardless of any appeal lodged against such measure (Section 34 a of the Asylum Procedure Act: provisional legal protection does not have suspensory effect). The possibility of appealing from the safe third state remains unaffected.
Safe third states are, in addition to the Member States of the European Communities, only States in which the application of the Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees and the European Human Rights Convention is guaranteed (see Article 16a(2), first sentence, of the Basic Law).
States other than EC Member States which meet the above criteria are specified by the legislator. The following States have been included in the list of "safe third states": Finland, Norway, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the Czech Republic (see Annex 1 re Section 26a of the Asylum Procedure Act).
Designation as a safe third state is essentially based on the conditions and criteria agreed upon by the EC Ministers Responsible for Immigration in their Resolution on "host third countries" of 30 November/ 1 December 1992. Under German "safe third state" rules actual contact with the territory is required although simple transit is sufficient to meet this criterion.
2. Principle of the "safe state of origin"
Und-er Section 29a of the Asylum Procedure Act, an application for asylum made by an alien from a safe state of origin is to be refused as manifestly unfounded, unless the facts or evidence provided by the alien justify the assumption that, despite the general situation in the country of origin, he is in danger of political persecution (refutable presumption).
Applications are dealt with under shortened and accelerated asylum procedures; see the details given under 3 on "manifestly unfounded asylum applications".
Safe states of origin are determined by the legislator. These are countries in which, on the basis of the legal situation, the application of the law and the general political circumstances, it seems safe to assume that neither political persecution nor inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment are practised (see Article 16a(3), first sentence, of the Basic Law).
A comprehensive list of criteria was employed to check whether the states meet the above requirements:
- recognition rates for asylum applicants in previous years,
- general political situation (e.g. democratic structure of the state),
- observance of human rights (e.g. compliance with the UN Convention
on on Civil and Political Rights),
- readiness of the state of origin to allow independent international
human rights organisations access to its territory,
- stability of the country.
These criteria are in line with the conclusions of the meeting of EC Ministers Responsible for Immigration of 30 November/ 1 December 1992 with respect to countries in which "there is generally no serious risk of persecution".
The following have been designated safe states of origin: Bulgaria, Gambia, Ghana, Poland, Romania, Senegal, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic and Hungary (see Annex 11 re Section 29a of the Asylum Procedure Act).
3. Manifestly unfounded applications for asylum
Section 30, para 3, nos. 1 to 6 of the Asylum Procedure Act sets out categories of manifestly unfounded applications, which may be rejected under a shortened, accelerated asylum procedure.
An unfounded application for asylum is to be rejected as manifestly unfounded if,
- essential points of an alien's claim are unsubstantiated or the claim
is contradictory or is based on forged or false evidence,
- an alien gives false information about his identity or nationality or
refuses to provide such information in asylum procedures,
an applicant for asylum flagrantly fails to comply with the obligation to co-operate in asylum procedures, unless he is not answerable for this.
In these cases the content of the asylum application must be examined.
As for the rest, an asylum application is to be turned down as manifestly unfounded where the alien must be considered, for serious reasons, a threat to the security of the Federal Republic of Germany or where he poses a threat to the general public because he has been finally convicted of a particularly serious criminal offence. Under the provisions of the Geneva Convention on Refugees (Art. 33, para. 2) it is permissible in these cases to also deport a recognized asylum-seeker to his country of origin.
Applications are dealt with by means of a shortened and accelerated procedure: If the alien's application for asylum is rejected by the Federal Office for the Recognition of Foreign Refugees as manifestly unfounded, the Office will issue a deportation warning and the alien must leave the country within a week. He can apply within one week to the administrative court for provisional legal protection and, as a rule, a decision should be taken within a week. In provisional legal protection proceedings, the administrative court may set aside the deportation only where there are serious doubts as to the legality of the decision.
The categories given in Section 30 of the Asylum Procedure Act basically correspond to the criteria listed in the Resolution of the EC Ministers Responsible for Immigration of 30 November/ 1 December 1992 on "manifestly unfounded" applications.
Airport rules
In the case of aliens from safe states or origin arriving via an airport and applying to the frontier authorities for asylum, under Section 18 a of the Asylum Procedure Act the asylum procedures must be carried out before they enter the country provided they can be accommodated on airport territory during the proceedings. The same applies to aliens requesting asylum from the frontier authorities at an airport and unable to prove their identity with a valid passport or other documentation instead of a passport. While the asylum procedures are in progress, the alien is not allowed to leave the transit area.
The alien may apply for provisional legal protection within three days of the service of the decision taken by the Federal Office for the Recognition of Alien Refugees to reject his application. The administrative court should rule on such an appeal within fourteen days.
Where the Federal Office informs the frontier authorities that it is unable to take a decision swiftly or where the Federal Office has not taken a decision on the asylum application within two days of its being lodged, or where the administrative court has not delivered a decision on an application to be granted entry of the country within fourteen days of its being lodged, the alien must be allowed to enter the country.
5. Implementation of. the Dublin and Schengen Conventions
Further amendments to the Asylum Procedure Act implemented the rules governing responsibility for asylum in the Schengen and Dublin Conventions.
For instance, the third country rules do not apply where the Federal Republic of Germany is responsible for the implementation of a particular asylum procedure on the basis of an international treaty with the safe third country in question (Section 26 a para. 1, second sentence, no. 2, of the Asylum Procedure Act).
6. Refugees from war and civil war
Special admission arrangements have been laid down in Section 32a of the Aliens Act for refugees from war and civil war. Aliens from war or civil war areas are granted temporary admission. No asylum procedures may take place during this period.
The Asylum Procedure Act of 26 June 1992, last amended by the Law Amending Asylum Procedure, Aliens and Nationality Provisions of 30 June 1993, lays down the procedure for determining whether a person is entitled to asylum.
An official of the Federal Office for the Recognition of Foreign Refugees takes a decision on the individual asylum application. He is not bound by instructions as regards his decisions.
A Federal Commissioner for Asylum Matters has been appointed to the Federal Office. He may take part in the asylum procedures before the Federal Office and the law courts and may appeal against decisions of the Federal Office and of the administrative courts. He is bound by instructions of the Federal Minister of the Interior.
Once an alien has been recognized as a person entitled to asylum, he is also entitled to be granted an unlimited residence permit and be issued with a refugee's travel document. In wide areas of legal, social and economic life such aliens are on par with Germans. So as to help the get by in Germany, they may take advantage of a number of rights and benefits (e.g. taking part in a German language course while drawing a wage substitute).
Under the present Act the legal status of a person entitled to asylum is also granted to spouses and minor children of persons entitled to asylum even if the former themselves are not persecuted on political grounds, provided the family links existed prior to the flight.
Although under the Geneva Convention on Refugees it is for the states to decide what refugees are enabled to legally stay in a country, refugees under the Geneva Convention are given a legal entitlement to a residence title for exceptional purposes because they cannot be deported to any other state anyway. Thus, they are in many respects given the same right as persons entitled to asylum.
German Law: Resources in English
Gesetz über die Einreise und den Aufenhalt von Ausländern im Bundesgebiet
Verordnung über Datenübermittlungen an die Ausländerbehörden