legal and social conditions for asylum seekers and refugees in ...

These grounds for rejection apply not only to border applicants, but also to those who are found
by the border police within the border area having made an illegal entry into Germany.
Accelerated airport procedure
Under Section 18a of the Asylum Procedure Act, a special accelerated procedure for airport
cases is applied to asylum seekers coming from “safe countries of origin”, or without valid
passports. The list of “safe countries of origin”, approved by Parliament, includes Bulgaria,
Ghana, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
In these cases, applicants awaiting a decision on entry into the country must remain at the airport,
provided it has sufficient capacity to accommodate them. Usually, they stay in special premises
within the airport’s transit zone. Unaccompanied minors may also be required to stay there, but
they are usually taken care of by social workers. UNHCR and other refugees assisting NGOs
normally have access to asylum seekers in the transit zone.
Applicants are interviewed by an official of the Federal Office for the Recognition of Foreign
Refugees, with the assistance of an interpreter wherever necessary. The Federal Office must
reach a decision within two days of submission of the application, otherwise the applicant will
automatically be allowed to enter the territory.
If the Federal Office rejects the claim as manifestly unfounded, entry is refused. The applicant
may, however, file an appeal with the administrative court within the next three days, with
suspensive effect. The administrative court (“Verwaltungsgericht”) must reach a decision within
14 days and, if it does not, the applicant is again allowed to enter the country. In theory,
applicants may be assisted by a lawyer under this accelerated procedure, but no free legal aid is
available.
The Dublin Convention
The Federal Office for the Recognition of Foreign Refugees is responsible for implementing the
procedure of the Dublin Convention. Applicants processed under this procedure, like other
asylum seekers, are issued with an authorisation to stay which is valid for the duration of the
procedure (“Aufenthaltsgestattung”) and are given the same social rights as other applicants.
Entry into the territory
Only a few asylum seekers submit their applications for asylum at the borders. Most enter the
Federal Republic of Germany on an illegal basis by avoiding border control, or legally, with a valid
visa; they then apply for asylum from within the country.
Aliens applying for asylum to the Aliens Office (“Ausländerbehörde”) or to the police must be
referred immediately to the appropriate reception centre for registration. Formal applications for
asylum must be submitted to the local branch of the Federal Office for Recognition of Foreign
Refugees allocated to that reception centre. If the applicant has come from a “safe third country”,
this local branch will immediately issue a decision on inadmissibility and, in those cases where it
is feasible, order his/her return to that country.
Each case must be processed by the Federal Office in accordance with the provisions of the
Asylum Procedure Act, which provides for a personal interview with the asylum seeker. The local
branches of the Federal Office in the reception centres carry out these interviews. Interpreters are
available where necessary and legal assistance may be provided by some NGOs.
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