Regulatory jungle - Migrants facing German bureaucracy - video Dailymotion

DW (English)

Migrants who want to settle in Germany have to deal with its bureaucracy. The process can be a frustrating one, especially given backlogs at government offices.

Transcript

00:00 The waiting and the way people speak to you don't make you feel welcome.

00:07 Yairan from Cuba is one of many migrants who feel this way.

00:14 German bureaucracy doesn't make it easy to build a new life here.

00:18 There are long wait times for appointments,

00:20 challenging language courses and constant setbacks.

00:23 Even so, many like Catalina from Colombia are taking the leap and moving here.

00:29 I want to try living outside my country, away from my family, to see if I can handle it.

00:35 We'll be following their experiences as they deal with German bureaucracy

00:40 and finding out how immigration authorities are responding to criticism.

00:58 Very good. Very good.

01:02 Catalina Fajardo wants to work in Germany as a kindergarten teacher.

01:06 To get a work permit, the Colombian needs 'Level B' German,

01:10 in other words, an acceptable standard of reading and conversation skills.

01:15 But it's not an easy language.

01:20 Learning it as a foreign language is complicated.

01:25 There are lots of structures.

01:27 And sometimes when you're learning a foreign language, you forget the grammatical rules.

01:34 Catalina is doing an intensive language course in Bogota run by a German placement agency.

01:41 It starts at absolute beginner level and lasts seven months.

01:45 Students must study several hours every day and they're not allowed to work on the side.

01:50 In return, they receive a stipend of around 300 euros.

01:54 In Colombia, Catalina studied pedagogy and psychology.

01:58 She's qualified to work as a kindergarten teacher in Germany.

02:02 She's looking to improve her career prospects.

02:06 I think Germany, with its multiculturalism,

02:12 is the perfect place for me to work and do the things I want to do.

02:16 It feels like a unique opportunity for professional development.

02:24 Catalina and her classmates will soon take the B2 level German exam.

02:29 If they don't pass, the language course will continue with a reduced stipend.

02:34 Not everyone passes first time.

02:41 The goal is that everyone succeeds.

02:46 But it's very difficult to reach B2 level.

02:51 Until Catalina passes, she won't get her visa and she can't move to Germany.

02:56 The pressure is on.

03:01 Cuban Jairen Montejo has lived in Germany for around eight years.

03:06 Right now he calls Berlin home, but he still doesn't have permanent residence.

03:11 This is my face every year when I have to extend my visa at the immigration office.

03:19 I don't know what to expect.

03:24 I could get one more year or six months, or maybe no visa at all.

03:29 That's the feeling I'm trying to express here.

03:34 Jairen came to Germany because he fell in love with a flight attendant in Cuba.

03:39 They both got married there and wanted to live together in Germany.

03:44 Despite the marriage, getting a visa was not easy.

03:49 In order to come to Germany, me and my then wife had to prove that we were together, and for how long.

03:57 We had to print out photos to show the authorities.

04:02 Even if you're married, if you don't have good proof of things like that, you might not be allowed to travel.

04:12 In Germany, the love didn't last, and the couple didn't want to stay together purely for immigration reasons.

04:19 For three years, Jairen has had to renew his visa annually.

04:23 That's meant dealing with Germany's immigration office again and again.

04:28 That's been bad, because it takes a while, a long while, to get an appointment at the immigration office.

04:37 During the COVID-19 pandemic, it took so long that his residence permit officially expired.

04:43 He even lost his job because of the delay.

04:48 Sometimes it means you don't have a job for one or two months, because the visa takes so long.

04:57 I've even lost my apartment before, because if you can't work, then you can't afford it.

05:06 For Jairen, it's a stressful situation.

05:10 You never know what to expect at the immigration office.

05:16 You don't know how long you'll have to wait, or whether the person you need to speak to might not be there,

05:22 or if it'll turn out that you're missing some document or other.

05:28 Things work differently in Germany.

05:33 Now Jairen is waiting to be given an appointment at the immigration office in Berlin.

05:39 It should result in him finally getting a German permanent residence permit, after eight years in the country.

05:45 That's if everything goes according to plan.

05:48 About a month later, Jairen is preparing for his appointment.

05:55 I'm definitely anxious, but I've got a confirmation from the immigration office,

06:00 so everything should really be okay, and it shouldn't take too long.

06:05 It's only a few minutes' drive to the immigration office.

06:08 Once there, Jairen first has to register at the gate.

06:12 Berlin's immigration office has a large security presence, and there are lots of people waiting for appointments.

06:20 Jairen's conversation with the employee at the gate lasts a surprisingly long time.

06:30 I have to come back at 12.45, quarter to one, because they changed the appointment time.

06:40 And the reason for this change?

06:43 They just said that they changed it, and that I should be happy because now I have some extra time.

06:51 So Jairen has a few more hours to wait for the all-important permanent residence permit.

06:57 He just has to hope the appointment will actually happen.

07:01 For many people, scheduling problems like this are hard to bear.

07:05 But why is the system so unreliable?

07:08 Like many others around Germany, Berlin's immigration officials didn't want to talk on camera.

07:13 But the immigration office in Remscheid in North Rhine-Westphalia agreed to let us film.

07:19 38 employees currently work here, more than double what there were around eight years ago.

07:24 Department head Dietmar Murach says that since 2015, demand for appointments has skyrocketed.

07:34 Of course, 2015 saw the surge of refugee arrivals that everyone remembers.

07:40 A great many people came to Germany, including to Remscheid.

07:44 Around 2013-2014, there were something like 17,500 immigrants in Remscheid.

07:50 Now it's 24,000.

07:53 Authorities aren't just struggling with increased numbers of migrants and refugees.

07:58 They're also understaffed.

08:00 The office in Remscheid sees high staff turnover because the pressure is too much for some.

08:06 Clara Leuster is one of those with an extreme workload.

08:11 After my training, the first thing I had to learn was that I'd never get through all the work on my desk.

08:16 That's pretty much impossible.

08:19 It's really stressful, including the decisions you have to make.

08:22 That's not always easy either.

08:25 I always say to people, "I'm sorry, I can't extend your visa. You'll have to leave the country."

08:31 The emotional strain is one thing.

08:33 Then there's the lack of digitization, which makes working in immigration offices more difficult.

08:41 It's pretty full here, but in the other office where my desk is,

08:45 there are so many that sometimes we have to put them on top of the folders.

08:49 We have to put them there because no more will fit in here.

08:53 The lack of digitization is a widespread problem in Germany.

08:57 There are increasing calls from government workers for politicians to take action.

09:02 Back in Bogota, Catalina has passed the language test on her second attempt.

09:07 She now qualifies for a work permit.

09:09 She's been recruited by a placement agency to work in Germany.

09:13 And she's looking forward to the move.

09:19 I want to try living outside my country, away from my family, to see if I can handle it,

09:25 and to see whether I'll decide to stay.

09:29 Before setting off, Catalina spends some time with her older brother Oscar.

09:34 She's the youngest of three siblings and the first to emigrate.

09:43 I want her to enjoy it, to travel and make the most of it.

09:47 Her brother wants to visit her soon, too.

09:54 This is Hanau in central Germany.

09:57 Catalina will be working in a kindergarten like this one.

10:02 In Germany, there's a shortage of almost 100,000 kindergarten teachers.

10:07 That's about 80 missing employees in Hanau's daycare centers alone.

10:12 Skilled workers from abroad can at least help the city fill some gaps.

10:16 So far, it's working well.

10:20 We have the feeling that people deciding they want to work overseas is a really big motivating factor.

10:30 Daniela Noggia is also from Colombia.

10:33 She's been in Hanau for about a year.

10:35 Things haven't always been easy for her.

10:39 The weather is tough.

10:42 We don't have seasons in Colombia, so winter here was very hard for us.

10:47 And the language, too.

10:49 Those who have the support of an agency and a job offer have an easier time dealing with German bureaucracy.

10:55 It's different for those who are doing everything themselves, like Jairen Montejo in Berlin.

11:00 After yet more waiting, he's on the way to hopefully finally collect his permanent residence permit.

11:09 I'm definitely nervous, but hopefully everything will work out this time.

11:14 There are still lots of people waiting in front of the office.

11:17 Once again, Jairen has to check with security before entering.

11:23 This time, he's allowed to go in to his appointment.

11:32 After a few minutes, he's back.

11:38 Yes, it worked. It took a while, but it worked, and I have the card with me.

11:43 This is my old one, and this is my new one.

11:47 Finally, Jairen Montejo has permission to stay in Germany indefinitely.

11:54 After eight years, countless appointments, and lots of problems, it's a huge relief.

12:01 I definitely feel better.

12:04 I won't have to come here anymore.

12:07 I can get on with my life.

12:10 The next possible step for Jairen, acquiring German citizenship.

12:15 But that too will likely be a long road with a lot of hurdles and surprises along the way.

12:22 [Music]

Regulatory jungle - Migrants facing German bureaucracy

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