Coronavirus: Information for Refugees & Asylum Seekers

Many in shared accommodation facilities currently do not know what is going to happen in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic. Some accommodation facilities are under total quarantine. Others have enforced new measures—unfortunately, a uniform regulation for shared accommodation facilities do not exist in Germany (yet). Your facility's management will notify you of the way your accommodation centre will continue to run during the next few weeks. Currently, effective resolutions are being sought and discussed. If there are significant problems in your accommodation centre, contact and inform the Refugee Council. You can find the responsible Refugee Council on fluechtlingsrat.de.

Important: Individuals who live in a shared facility are entitled to an early vaccination. You can learn more in our chapter “Coronavirus”.

Currently, deportations from Germany take place despite the corona pandemic raging worldwide.Whether they take place, however, depends on available flight connections and entry/quarantine restrictions. “Dublin”-related deportations are also resumed and may take place. If you are concerned that you may be affected, contact the Pro Asyl hotline, the proper Refugee Council or your lawyer. You can learn more about the deportation process in our chapter “Deportation”.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Dublin-case deportations to other European countries have been suspended for a few months. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) was previously of the opinion that the transfer deadlines will "pause" during the corona pandemic only to continue afterwards. The idea, however, was legally controversial, as both the EU and various courts have ruled that the transfer deadlines continued to run during the Corona pandemic.

At the beginning of August, the BAMF decided that people whose transfer deadline had expired during the corona pandemic AND who do not file a case in court against BAMF's decision can apply for asylum in Germany. In other words, these individuals are not going to be deported to the other EU country.

People who are currently going through legal proceedings against BAMF's decision are not affected by this regulation. You can find out more about the Dublin procedure and your possibilities in our chapter "Dublin procedure".

If you find yourself in a Dublin procedure, make sure to seek advice from a lawyer or counselling centre. Contact the Refugee Council or Proasyl in your state if you need help finding a lawyer/counselling centre.

Because of the Corona pandemic, application for asylum can only take place in writing. As soon as you are registered in an Initial Reception Centre ("Erstaufnahmeeinrichtung"), you will be handed a so-called proof of arrival ("Ankunftsnachweis ") and an asylum application form. After you fill out and sign the application form, It will be sent to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) together with a copy of your proof of arrival. The BAMF will then send you a temporary stay permit ("Aufenthaltsgestattung").You will also be sent an invitation for a hearing session eventually. You can find out more at bamf.de. You can learn more about asylum application and hearing in our chapter “Asylum Procedure”.

If your hearing has already taken place, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) will continue to process your asylum application. BAMF have also resumed to inform (both rejected and accepted) asylum applicants about the decisions- i.e. rejection or acceptance of their asylum application. You need to keep checking your mail regularly and contact Pro Asyl hotline or a lawyer if need help.

When your tolerated stay permit expires, you must apply for an extension. Check the website of the Immigration Office responsible for you to see if they are open- when not, check whether there is an online application available on their website. If you cannot find any: Call them or write an e-mail including all necessary personal data (name, date of birth, etc.) and ask for your "Duldung" to be extended. You can find the Immigration Office responsible at webgis.bamf.de. For more information, visit our chapter “Tolerated Stay (Duldung)".

Currently, many embassies either do not work or do so for limited hours. So, extensive delays are expected. Check the website of the proper German embassy regularly to learn about the latest. If the delays can lead to the expiry of a deadline, your family cannot collect the visa, or any other problems arise, contact the staff of the DRK search service or your lawyer.

Please note: The legal deadlines still apply, i.e. you have to meet the legal deadlines despite the Corona crisis. You can find out more about the statutory deadlines in our chapter "Family Reunification". To keep the deadline, you can register at the Immigration Office online at fap.diplo.de. The application which your family must submit to the relevant embassy can be sent per fax- but please make sure to preserve the confirmation notice.

If your family already has a visa (which is still valid), they can come to Germany. You can learn more in our chapter “Coronavirus- Public Life & Mobility”.