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Jordan News
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Jordan News
Germany Starts Procedures to Revoke Residency from Hundreds of Syrians After Visits to Their Homeland - Jordan News
German authorities have opened cases for over 2,000 refugees, including hundreds of Syrians, as part of a process to revoke their residency permits after it was revealed they had visited their home countries in recent months. The government considers these visits as evidence that the refugees no longer need protection. اضافة اعلان According to the current rules in Germany, a refugee's protection status is revoked if they travel to their home country, with exceptions only for "compelling humanitarian reasons," such as the serious illness or death of a family member. Additionally, refugees must inform immigration authorities about their travel in advance. After a stabbing attack by a Syrian refugee in the city of Solingen last year, which resulted in the deaths of three people, the previous German government, under a security package, agreed that individuals granted asylum would lose their protection status if they traveled to their home countries. More Than 700 Syrian Refugees Visited Their Home Country In response to an inquiry from the German newspaper "Welt," the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) confirmed on Thursday that it had opened 2,157 procedures to review the protection status of refugees who traveled to their home countries between November 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025. Among the refugees who visited their home countries during this period, Iraq topped the list with 762 cases, followed by Syria with 734 cases, Afghanistan (240), Iran (115), and Turkey (31), according to a spokesperson from BAMF. The spokesperson explained that as soon as the office learns of a refugee traveling to their home country, they begin a "review case" to document the situation. However, the actual processing of these cases for Syria is currently suspended, with a temporary delay in the procedures for Syria. In general, protection may be reviewed and revoked for various reasons, such as improvements in security conditions in the country of origin or the commission of serious crimes by the refugee. Exceptional Plans for Syrians Under Strict Conditions On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the German Ministry of the Interior in Berlin announced that the government intends to temporarily allow Syrian refugees to visit their homeland without losing their protection status in Germany, provided that these visits meet "strict conditions" and serve as "preparations for permanent return" to Syria. The Ministry of the Interior, which is still led by the Social Democratic Party, aims to give Syrians the opportunity to make a decision about voluntary return. The spokesperson clarified that "to do so, individuals must be able to gain insight into the situation in their home country, for example, to see if their homes are still standing or if their relatives are still alive." The spokesperson emphasized that these trips must be registered with the relevant foreign authorities in advance and should be "exclusively for the purpose of preparing for voluntary return." The plan is still under coordination with the federal states in Germany, and a start date for its implementation has not yet been determined. Government Coalition Partner Rejects the Plan However, the Christian Social Union (CSU), which is expected to take over the Ministry of the Interior in the new coalition government next month, strongly criticized these plans. Bavaria's Minister of the Interior, Joachim Herrmann, announced his opposition to "allowing holiday trips disguised as exploratory visits." In a letter to the current Federal Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser (from the Social Democratic Party), Herrmann (from the Christian Social Union) expressed concerns about "an uncontrollable movement of travel between Syria and Germany," arguing that the plans are incompatible with federal laws that stipulate the revocation of protection status if a refugee returns to their home country. He called for a joint European solution and rejected what he called "unilateral national actions." He also pointed out that "the issue of granting social benefits during such trips has not been resolved, and there is a risk of creating the impression that the state is funding these trips." The Christian Social Union is set to take over the Ministry of the Interior in the upcoming German government, based on the coalition agreement between the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union and the Social Democratic Party. The new coalition seeks to tighten asylum policies, including increasing deportations to Syria, starting with criminals and individuals categorized as security threats. How Many Syrians Are Returning Voluntarily? Meanwhile, the German Ministry of the Interior reported that 464 Syrian refugees have voluntarily returned to their home country since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, with financial support from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. Since 2017, federal states have announced programs to support voluntary returns to Syria, and in 2024, 87 Syrians returned through this program, with 31 so far in 2025, according to the RND news network. According to the Federal Office, the financial support covers travel expenses, financial assistance to start anew, and medical costs if needed. Each family can receive up to 4,000 euros in initial assistance. This financial support is part of the office's strategy to reduce the number of Syrian refugees in Germany. Since the fall of the Assad regime, many Syrian refugees have been waiting for the German government's promises to allow them to visit their home country without losing their asylum status. Many aspire to return to Syria for a short period to check on their families or assess the situation in their homeland.
Euronews
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
From surveillance to automation: How AI tech is being used at European borders
ADVERTISEMENT As EU leaders said in Brussels this week that they need to keep exploring new ways to curb irregular migration, experts are calling for more attention to be drawn to how programmes backed by artificial intelligence (AI) and automated surveillance could be used at Europe's borders. Experts told Euronews Next that 12 EU states are either testing automated border control systems or AI-powered systems at borders. Derya Ozkul, an associate professor at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom, said little is known about how these technologies will impact the rights of migrants. 'Migrants are being kind of used as guinea pigs really in this area,' Ozkul said in an interview. 'All of the glitches with the systems, all of the possible problems and so on are all become faults for migrants to deal with, and there's not really much accountability'. Related Europe at the crossroads: Euronews launches special EU summit show What AI tech is already in place at the EU's borders? Where AI is already integrated or being tested along some of the EU's borders is mostly as processing support for asylum seekers, Ozkul said. One AI tool that Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) uses is an automated language and dialect recognition software to help officials corroborate a migrant's country of origin without official documents based on a two minute voice recording. Related EU asylum requests down by 11% in 2024, but still exceed one million A statement from BAMF to Euronews Next said the software recognises five major Arabic dialects: Egyptian, Gulf, Iraqi, Levantine, and Maghrebi and could be expanded to more in the future. The tool is a way of verifying the information that a claimant would provide during their hearing but is only used 'in special cases… when appropriate,' the department said. The department said dialect recognition was used in 43,593 cases in 2023 of the 334,000 applications it received that year. AI is also used by border officials to help them recognise 'security-relevant facts' in asylum hearings, the government said. Decision-makers can then edit, supplement, or discard the information flagged by the AI, so the 'human decides, not the AI'. The AI simplifies the reporting process for decision-makers who say it can be difficult to identify security information during these hearings, BAMF continued. '[Migrants] usually have no idea how the system is processing their application, and they have no say in the process." Derya Ozkul Associate Professor, University of Warwick Ozkul said migrants are often not aware that their asylum cases will be processed using automation or AI. '[Migrants] usually have no idea how the system is processing their application, and they have no say in the process,' Ozkul said. 'They may not be able to reject the outcome because, again, they don't have as many rights as citizens would,' she added. ADVERTISEMENT What AI opportunities has the EU identified? The EU has already invested in some AI-based projects throughout the bloc. One of them is Centaurus, a project in Greek detention facilities like those along the Evros River that enables CCTV cameras with behavioural analysis algorithms that detect illegal behaviour by groups and uses drones to assess migrant behaviour in the facilities 'without human intervention'. The bloc has also invested in Hyperion, a second system that uses biometric fingerprint data to make it easier to enter and exit detention facilities. Maria Gavouneli, president of the Greek National Commission for Human Rights, an independent advisory body to the government, called it a 'major surveillance exercise that is coordinated [and] financed by the European Union'. ADVERTISEMENT 'The major issue that we are going to be confronted with is questions of transparency, questions of accountability." Maria Gavouneli President, Greek National Commission for Human Rights Gavouneli said that most of the surveillance technologies being used at Evros can also be used for national defence, something that will 'be intensified' in the coming years. 'The major issue that we are going to be confronted with is questions of transparency, questions of accountability,' Gavouneli said. The EU has also invested in some AI-supported projects to detect migrant smuggling, like the COMPASS2020 project, which saw patrol vessels autonomously launch underwater drones to boost their surveillance range. Related Has Europe politicised the right to asylum? | Radio Schuman Another, the PROMENADE project , uses AI to improve maritime surveillance and data analysis around 370 kilometres from the coastline. ADVERTISEMENT There's also a possibility that the bloc expands AI use at borders in the near future, with a few key areas identified in a 2020 white paper . Automated fingerprint and face recognition, AI-generated emotion detection, migrant risk assessments with algorithms, and AI monitoring of trends are a few key areas of interest, the report found.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany's asylum rate drops in 2025 after pause on Syrian decisions
Fewer asylum seekers were granted protection status in Germany in January and February compared to the same period last year, according to the latest figures released by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) on Friday. Some 19.1% of applicants were granted protection status or the right to remain due to a ban on deportations during the first two months of the year compared to 45% during the same period in 2024. The lower protection rate was mainly due to decisions being paused on applications from Syrian nationals following the overthrow of Syria's long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad in December. The Interior Ministry justified the temporary halt on decisions with the dynamic situation in the country. Syria continues to top the list of the main countries of origin for asylum seekers in Germany, with Syrian nationals accounting for 27.7% of asylum applications in February, followed by Afghans at 15.3% and Turkish applicants at 10%, the BAMF figures showed. Despite the lower protection rate, BAMF has made 55,070 decisions on asylum applications in the last two months, which is consistent with the 54,705 decisions it made during the same period last year. The average duration for the process was 12.3 months in February, as the office works through a backlog caused in part by the high number of applications in 2023. Those who submitted an application in the last 12 months received a decision after an average of 4.3 months, BAMF noted. The number of first-time asylum applications in Germany decreased to 229,751 in 2024, a 30.2% drop from 2023. The number of asylum applications in the European Union, Norway and Switzerland also fell during this period by 12%, according to the EU asylum agency.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany's asylum rate drops in 2025 after pause on Syrian decisions
Fewer asylum seekers were granted protection status in Germany in January and February compared to the same period last year, according to the latest figures released by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) on Friday. Some 19.1% of applicants were granted protection status or the right to remain due to a ban on deportations during the first two months of the year compared to 45% during the same period in 2024. The lower protection rate was mainly due to decisions being paused on applications from Syrian nationals following the overthrow of Syria's long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad in December. The Interior Ministry justified the temporary halt on decisions with the dynamic situation in the country. Syria continues to top the list of the main countries of origin for asylum seekers in Germany, with Syrian nationals accounting for 27.7% of asylum applications in February, followed by Afghans at 15.3% and Turkish applicants at 10%, the BAMF figures showed. Despite the lower protection rate, BAMF has made 55,070 decisions on asylum applications in the last two months, which is consistent with the 54,705 decisions it made during the same period last year. The average duration for the process was 12.3 months in February, as the office works through a backlog caused in part by the high number of applications in 2023. Those who submitted an application in the last 12 months received a decision after an average of 4.3 months, BAMF noted. The number of first-time asylum applications in Germany decreased to 229,751 in 2024, a 30.2% drop from 2023. The number of asylum applications in the European Union, Norway and Switzerland also fell during this period by 12%, according to the EU asylum agency.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukrainian refugees in Germany face uncertain prospects, study finds
A lack of childcare, dense bureaucracy and uncertain residency prospects are major obstacles for Ukrainian refugees seeking to integrate in Germany, a new study released on Monday found. The study, conducted by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) and the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), also found that Ukrainian refugees are under greater psychological strain than the rest of the population, likely due to their experiences of war and fleeing their country. The study is based on a representative survey of Ukrainian refugees conducted between July 2023 and January 2024. It found that the lack of childcare provided by the state was a major obstacle for Ukrainian refugees seeking employment in Germany, who are predominantly women. Problems finding a job and getting professional qualifications recognized were also mentioned frequently by respondents. More than half of those surveyed said they wanted to stay in Germany permanently. This figure varies depending on when people arrived in the country, with 60% of those who arrived between the end of February 2022 and the end of May 2022 saying they want to stay permanently, compared to 69% of those who arrived after May 2022. Some 90% of those surveyed said an end to the war would be a prerequisite for returning home, while 60% cited an improvement in the economic situation in Ukraine as an important factor in their decision. Nataliia Lichkonenko, who fled Ukraine to Germany in 2022 and is involved in a project for female refugees, said the shock triggered by the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 has had a lasting impact on her and many of her compatriots, making long-term life planning difficult. Ukrainian refugees do not have to apply for asylum in the European Union. They are admitted under the EU's Temporary Protection Directive, which was implemented shortly after the start of the war and has been extended several times. It is currently in place until March 4, 2026. The employment rate among Ukrainian nationals in Germany has increased, reaching 31.7% in November, 6.6 percentage points higher than it was a year previously. According to the IAB, 98,000 Ukrainian citizens attended a so-called integration course in January, which is primarily aimed at teaching them German.
