Immigration and Asylum

No new asylum procedures in Germany after obtaining protection in Greece

Third-country nationals expelled from Ukraine with the right of temporary residence do not receive the right of humanitarian residence.

01 September 2024 by Dr.Klaus Dienely

In three judgments handed down on 6 August 2024, the 2nd Senate of the Hessian High Administrative Court has ruled that male recognised refugees who return to Greece alone, who are young, healthy and able to work, are in any case not at risk of being treated in violation of their human rights due to systemic weaknesses in the Greek reception system. This means that they are not entitled to a further asylum procedure in Germany. The situation may be different for persons with special individual circumstances.

The applicants in all three cases had already been granted international protection in Greece. They then travelled on to Germany and applied for asylum again. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees rejected the asylum applications as inadmissible, without examining their content, because of the protection status already obtained in Greece. The applicants appealed unsuccessfully against this decision to the Administrative Court of Giessen. The aim of their appeal was to be granted refugee status in Germany.

The 2nd Senate of the Hessian High Administrative Court has now dismissed the appeals against the judgments of the Giessen Administrative Court in two cases (2 A 489/23.A and 2 A 1131/24.A).

The reasoning of the Senate was essentially that the plaintiffs were not at risk of inhuman or degrading treatment in Greece within the meaning of Art. 4 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union or Art. 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, for example in the form of homelessness or destitution. Based on current information sources, the Greek reception system for recognised beneficiaries of protection shows significant shortcomings. However, male recognised beneficiaries of protection who return to Greece alone and who are young, healthy and able to work do not meet the particularly high threshold of relevance according to the case law of the European Court of Justice. Members of this group were generally able to overcome the considerable shortcomings of the Greek reception system during the first six months by taking the initiative to find accommodation and work.

In the third case (2 A 1132/24.A), the Senate upheld the appeal. For persons of pensionable age who are unable to work due to illness and who cannot expect help from relatives, there are systemic deficiencies in Greece in the first six months after they return so that they risk being treated in a way which violates human rights.

In all three cases, the Senate has granted leave to appeal to the Federal Administrative Court, as this deviates from the case law of numerous other higher administrative courts in Germany, which generally assume that there are systemic deficiencies in Greece.

The appeal has already been lodged in one case (2 A 1131/24.A).

Case numbers: 2 A 489/23.A, 2 A 1132/24.A and 2 A 1131/24.A.

Source: Press release of the Hess. VGH of 30 August 2024

We're on a mission to change the way the housing market works. Rather than offering one service or another, we want to combine as many and make our clients' lives easy and carefree. Our goal is to match our clients with the perfect properties that fit their tastes, needs, and budgets.

15 May 2024 by Dr.Klaus Dienely

The 3rd Senate of the Hessian Administrative Court ruled on 13 May 2024 (Ref.: 3 B 791/23) that foreign nationals from third countries who had a temporary right of residence in Ukraine and were displaced as a result of the war are not entitled to a residence permit under Section 24 (1) of the Residence Act. Previously, such foreigners (e.g. students or employees) had been granted a residence permit if it was not reasonable or possible for them to return safely and permanently to their home country.

According to the decision of the Third Senate, Section 24 (1) of the Residence Act only applies to displaced persons who are entitled to a favourable treatment under Union law, i.e. Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382. Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 is directly binding only with regard to the following categories of persons who were displaced from Ukraine on or after 24 February 2022 as a result of the military invasion by Russian forces

• Ukrainian nationals who were resident in Ukraine before 24 February 2022,

• stateless persons and nationals of third countries other than Ukraine who enjoyed international protection or equivalent national protection in Ukraine before 24 February 2022, and

• family members of the above-mentioned persons.

• Stateless persons and nationals of third countries other than Ukraine who can prove that they were residing lawfully in Ukraine before 24 February 2022 on the basis of a valid permanent residence permit issued in accordance with Ukrainian law and who are unable to return to their country or region of origin in a safe and durable manner.

The Court notes that foreign nationals from third countries with a temporary right of residence who are not among the above-mentioned beneficiaries could obtain a residence permit under Section 23(2) of the Residence Act, but that the conditions for such a right of residence are not met. The possibility of admitting displaced persons from Ukraine under Section 23 of the Residence Act exists not only for the admission of displaced persons who are not directly covered by Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382, but also in the event that the Council Decision expires and can no longer be extended in accordance with Article 4(2) of Directive 2001/55/EC.

In doing so, the Court also indicates a way in which the residence rights of displaced persons from Ukraine could be extended. As an extension of the residence rights of displaced persons from Ukraine beyond 4 March 2025 is not possible under EU law, a follow-up regulation would have to be found to prevent displaced persons from switching to the asylum system.

1. Please print this factsheet.

2. Please read the following instructions carefully and list your application documents.

3. Please sort your documents in the order given and tick them off which documents you are submitting.

4. The German Embassy is only responsible for applicants who have their habitual residence.

5. According to the Visa Regulations, the German Embassy is only responsible for Schengen visa applications if the main destination is Germany. If other Schengen countries are also to be visited, the periods of stay must be supported by appropriate documentation, such as hotel reservations.

6. Please register on the website and book your appointment there.

7. Please use the online application VIDEX for your application.

8. Please appear in person at the contact center and submit your visa application and fingerprints. Applicants who have submitted fingerprints to a Schengen representation within the past 4 years will not be required to submit new fingerprints. If you are applying through a messenger, you must sign a simplified authorization form for the messenger.

9. When applying for a Schengen visa, there are fees for the visa, as well as service fees at contact. The fee is not refundable in case of rejection or withdrawal of the application. Please also note that in case of no-show or showing up with incomplete documents, contact service fees will not be refunded. Cancellation of already booked appointments is possible up to 3 days before your booked appointment.

10. All documents must be accompanied by a German or English recognized translation.

11. The passport is an integral part of your application. A return of the passport during the ongoing processing procedure is not possible for organizational reasons.

12. Only applications with complete documents can be accepted. If you insist on the application being accepted with missing documents, this may result in a rejection of the required visa.

13. Submitting the application is possible from 6 months to 4 weeks before the planned trip.

14. The processing time of your application is approx. 2 to 4 weeks. In exceptional cases, the processing time may be longer. The Embassy reserves the right to request additional documents in some cases. Questions about the status of your application during the regular processing time will not be answered.

15. Please check our website regularly for further information.

16.Now you can easy apply through one of BAYERN GATES.