ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Germany will deport rejected asylum seekers regardless of how well they have integrated into society, including those with jobs or language skills, a government office told Rudaw on Saturday.
“If, after examining an asylum application, the Federal Office comes to the decision that there are no grounds for protection, [it] issues an order to leave the country,” Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) stated in a written response to Rudaw. It added that rejected applicants may be returned to their country “even without their consent.”
“Integration achievements play no role in the asylum procedure,” BAMF said. “Individual integration achievements as well as professional activities have no influence on the examination.”
The decision on the asylum application, it said, is based solely on whether an applicant faces a specific threat if returned to their country of origin. Decision-makers also consider whether internal relocation is possible within the applicant’s home country before granting asylum.
The office clarified that its role is limited to processing asylum applications and making protection decisions. Deportation enforcement falls under the jurisdiction of Germany’s federal states and their respective immigration authorities.
A growing number of Iraqi Kurds and Arabs who were recently deported had held temporary toleration status, known as Duldung, and had been employed or enrolled in integration programs. BAMF explained that Duldung only suspends deportation temporarily and does not establish a legal right to stay.
“People who are deported have no right to stay in Germany—even if they have a toleration status,” BAMF noted. “The obligation to leave remains.”
Public criticism has mounted over deportations of long-term residents. One such case is Rawsht Ghafor Abdullah, an Iraqi Kurd with a nursing degree who held Duldung status in Bavaria. In a video posted online, Abdullah said he was deported despite completing integration courses, working in Germany, and having no criminal record. BAMF declined to comment on individual cases but said residency decisions fall under the remit of state-level authorities.
Immigration was a central issue in Germany’s February parliamentary elections. The Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union bloc - considered center-right - secured 28.5 percent of the vote, followed by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) with 20.5 percent, and the Social Democrats (SPD) with 16.4 percent.
In January, the parliament passed a controversial migration control bill aimed at tightening enforcement. The legislation includes five measures: preventing illegal immigration, deporting those without legal status, deporting foreign criminals, detaining those under removal orders, and limiting family reunification.
Germany is a popular destination for tens of thousands of Iraqis and residents of the Kurdistan Region who attempt to reach Europe each year, often through smuggling routes.
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