Federal authorities have extended the partial ban on new integration course participants indefinitely. This was revealed in a new BAMF circular sent to course providers on Monday, a document currently held by the publication WELT. Uta Saumweber-Meyer, head of the “Integration and Social Cohesion” department at BAMF, informed providers that “in the current fiscal year, until further notice, no authorizations to participate in integration courses can be issued pursuant to Section 44, Paragraph 4 of the Residence Act.”
This means that, specifically, asylum seekers, individuals with a “Duldung” (temporary stay of deportation), arrivals from Ukraine, and EU citizens are no longer admitted to integration courses based on available spots. However, organizations may still accept unauthorized individuals as self-paying participants. The restrictions are expected to affect tens of thousands of applicants annually. The move was justified by “financial challenges.” In recent years, the agency had to submit requests for “several unplanned expenditures.” Moving forward, access to courses must be “more closely aligned with the funds available for these purposes in the federal budget.” The aim is to avoid financial risks “and ensure the long-term sustainable funding of integration course offerings.”
In previous years, expenditures for these purposes grew, partly due to the increasing number of foreigners seeking training. In 2023 and 2024, BAMF recorded a record number of participants—363,000 people each year. More than a third of them received admission from the agency based on a submitted application.
Some of those affected had a legal right to a course. These included foreigners residing in Germany “on a permanent basis,” such as recognized refugees or labor migrants. Others could previously be admitted upon application—asylum seekers with pending cases, foreigners with a temporary stay of deportation, Ukrainians with temporary protection, and EU citizens. Tens of thousands of people took advantage of this opportunity in past years; now, the agency has drastically restricted their participation.
Ukrainians Faced with Paying for Courses Independently
The agency, which falls under the Ministry of the Interior, noted that they were aware “that this decision involves restrictions for many potential participants and for the organizations conducting the courses.” However, the decision was made with the clear goal of “guaranteeing a reliable basis for all already issued and future obligations and rights.” Consequently, the plan is to ensure the timely and proper payment of all invoices to partner organizations.
For Ukrainians, this step could have particularly severe consequences: in recent years, more than 100,000 Ukrainian citizens annually began training in these courses, which were often state-funded. In the future, they will not be able to participate based on a simple application.
The opportunity for training remains only if they pay for the course themselves or if they are mandated to participate by authorities other than BAMF. Immigration offices (Ausländerbehörden), for instance, have this right, but they are not obligated to exercise it. One individual affected by the change criticized the new system, noting it opened the door to “arbitrariness.” Another pointed out that those forced to participate are typically less motivated than volunteers.
Objections also came from the SPD. “Language is the key to everything: to work, to participation in society,” emphasized internal security politician Hakan Demir in an interview with WELT. He added that “Parliament allocated funds for this year—over a billion euros. I expect this money to be used. Anything else is wrong.”
The course system has recently faced criticism from other quarters as well, including the Federal Audit Office. Compared to 2012 and 2022, expenditures on integration courses increased by 273 percent, auditors reported at the end of 2023. For 2024, federal authorities for the first time earmarked more than one billion euros for this purpose.
Source: WELT
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