Recent issues

In recent years there has been a fierce debate in Germany about how immigration to Germany should be handled. After long and difficult negotiations between the Federal Government and the Opposition an agreement was reached in August 2004 concerning the new Immigration Act, which came into force on January 1st 2005. The new Act for the Control and Restriction of Immigration and for the Regulation of the Residence and Integration of EU Citizens and Foreigners (Immigration Act) replaces all previous regulations relating to residence law.

This Act governs various aspects of immigration such as humanitarian migration, integration of foreigners or security questions etc.

The new Immigration Act reduces the number of residence permits to two. With effect from 1 January 2005 there is only a limited residence permit (befristete Aufenthaltserlaubnis) and an unlimited settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis). The residential status for a foreigner in Germany will no longer be determined by the type of residence permit but by the purpose of residence, e.g. employment, education etc.

Nevertheless the system for obtaining a permit has not changed as a result of the new Immigration Act, i.e. there are still at least two decision-makers involved in the process. Moreover there have been many changes in connection with the employment of foreign employees in Germany governed by numerous legal regulations.

Since the initial drafts of the Immigration Act our firm has been attentive to possible problems that may arise and has discussed these on an ongoing basis with the Federal Employment Agency and government committees, so that even before the Act came into force we were able offer our clients comprehensive advice and certainty in their planning requirements. This was all the more important given the current still existing uncertainty on the part of local decision-makers with regard to implementing the new regulations.