Asylum procedure
If you are seeking protection in Germany, your application will go through a multi-stage procedure at the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). Legal advice can make a decisive difference – especially at the hearing and in the appeal proceedings.
What the BAMF checks
When you apply for asylum, the BAMF will check whether you have been granted one of the following protection statuses:
- Recognition as a refugee (§ 3 AsylG): If you are persecuted because of race, religion, nationality, political conviction or membership of a particular social group.
- Subsidiary protection (§ 4 AsylG): If you are threatened with serious harm in your home country (e.g. death penalty, torture, armed conflict) without meeting the requirements for refugee status.
- Asylum under the Basic Law (Art. 16a GG): Politically persecuted persons enjoy the right to asylum – however, this status plays a subordinate role in practice.
- Prohibition of deportation (§ 60 AufenthG): If deportation is inadmissible for humanitarian reasons, for example due to serious illness or imminent violation of the ECHR.
Frequent reasons for rejection
- Dublin III Regulation/GEAS: Germany is not responsible because you first entered the country in another EU country.
- Protection in a third country: You have already been granted residence status in another safe country.
- No risk of persecution: The BAMF assumes that you are not at risk of persecution in your home country.
- Credibility problems: Their fate of persecution is not believed – often due to contradictions in the hearing.
- Safe country of origin: Nationals of certain countries classified as safe have more difficult conditions in the procedure.
The hearing at the BAMF
The interview is the most important step in the asylum procedure. This is where you describe your reasons for fleeing in detail. Errors or incompleteness in the interview can hardly be corrected later and will affect all further stages of the procedure.
We will prepare you for the hearing and explain to you what is important – even if it is not always possible to be accompanied by a lawyer to the hearing itself.
Rejection and complaint
If your application is rejected, you generally have the option of lodging a complaint with the administrative court within a short period of time. The deadlines vary greatly depending on the type of rejection – for some notices it is only one week. So act immediately!
Even after protection status has been granted, it can be revoked if the situation in the home country has changed. Legal action can also be taken against such a revocation.
Our advice
If you require representation, please request an appointment here. We will then let you know immediately whether we currently have free capacity to represent you.
