Germany may tighten rules allowing failed asylum seekers leave to stay

[BERLIN] New draft legislation would make it harder for some migrants who have been denied asylum in Germany to obtain waivers to stay in the country, the German newspaper Die Welt said on Wednesday.

It said new legislation drafted by Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere and being circulated among other ministries would establish new rules for deporting migrants who had broken German law and who posed significant danger.

Mr De Maiziere and other conservative government officials began urging faster repatriation of those whose asylum applications have been denied after a spate of violent attacks in Germany in July, two of which were carried out by Syrian refugees linked to the Islamic State militant group.

Police on Monday arrested a 22-year-old Syrian man who had been granted temporary asylum in Jun 2015 and said he was ready to carry out attacks similar to those in Brussels and Paris.

Intelligence sources on Tuesday said the man had ties to Islamic State.

The incident has fueled criticism of Chancellor Angela Merkel, and de Maiziere, whose conservative Christian Democrats have lost support to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party over the government's open-door refugee policy.

Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann, a member of the CDU's Bavarian sister party, and other top officials in that party, have called for a review of all migrants who were granted asylum after last year's influx of nearly a million people.

As of Aug 31 there were 210,0209 migrants in Germany who were required to leave, of whom 158,190 had been granted waivers of some kind that allowed them to stay temporarily, Die Welt said, citing the draft legislation.

"If deportation is not possible because the foreigner has, for example, misled authorities about identity or nationality, or is not cooperating with efforts to secure a replacement passport, then he will no longer receive exceptional leave to stay," the legislative draft said.

The refusal of the country of origin to issue replacement papers would also no longer be a reason for granting waivers, the paper said.

In addition, the legislation would require authorities to notify migrants only 30 days before their scheduled deportation, so as to minimise the opportunity for them to go underground to avoid leaving the country.

The draft law would also increase the time that those who refused to leave the country could be held in custody to two weeks from four days currently.

REUTERS