Germany adopts a simplified admission procedure for refugees from Ukraine

Germany has enacted a special regulation for refugees from Ukraine. This applies to Ukrainians as well as to many individuals who have a permanent residence title in Ukraine and have fled to Germany. Refugees from Ukraine should also register in Germany, but they do not submit a classic asylum application. In a simplified procedure they apply for a residence title for a certain period of time (according to section 24 Residence Act). This residence title usually also entitles them to take up a job and to attend an integration course.

“Queer Refugees Germany” publishes booklet for integration courses

The curriculum of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) clearly stipulates that newly immigrated people should also learn about the rights and situation of LGBTIQ++ people in Germany in the orientation courses. Often, however, the course instructors lack suitable materials to adequately convey this content. Because: In the textbooks available in the trade, the topics are usually dealt with insufficiently and superficially. With the brochure “Diversity Welcome!”, the project “Queer Refugees Germany” has now for the first time developed a comprehensive accompanying booklet that complements the existing materials.

First exchange meeting between refugee LGBTIQ++ activists with DeBUG violence protection multipliers

From 19 to 21 November 2021, a meeting between the refugee LGBTIQ++ activists of “Queer Refugees Germany” and the multipliers for violence protection of all seven DeBUG contact points took place in Cologne for the first time. The DeBUG project pursues the goal of supporting refugee shelters as well as their operating and supporting organisations throughout Germany in improving the protection against violence. The programme of the meeting included various workshops with plenty of space for the exchange of experiences on the subject of violence against LGBTIQ+ refugees, a presentation on violence and trauma as well as a joint self-assertion training of all participants.

President of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees Dr. Sommer receives the Lesbian and Gay Association for talks in Nuremberg

On the afternoon of October 1st, representatives of the Lesbian and Gay Association in Germany (LSVD) met with the management of the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) in Nuremberg to exchange views on various topics concerning the treatment of queer refugees. BAMF President Dr. Hans-Eckhard Sommer had invited the LSVD to the headquarters of the German asylum authority in Nuremberg. The meeting was preceded in the morning by an exchange between the association and specialist departments of the Federal Office.

ECJ declares preclusion periods for filing follow-up asylum applications as inadmissible

Asylmagazin publishes again an issue with focus on LGBTIQ++

In its issue 7-8/2021, the asylum magazine Asylmagazin has once again examined a “Thematic focus: sexual and gender identity as a reason for fleeing” and published, among other things, three articles on this topic. In the first article, the author Petra Sußner explains  the strong influence of heteronormativity on the legal practice and develops an alternative, interdisciplinary approach to deal with LGBTIQ++ cases. In the second article, the authors Philipp Braun, Patrick Dörr and Alva Träbert describe cases in which the Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany (LSVD) discovered “Outings of queer asylum seekers by trusted lawyers of the Foreign Office”. In the third, the same three authors finally present the so-called “discretion requirement” and “How the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) and the courts continue to undermine the Supreme Court’s guideline”.