German law, however, is considerably more complex than it appears at first glance: deportation is not a decision that an immigration official makes unilaterally in a single day. The law distinguishes two fundamentally different stages — the order terminating a person’s right to remain and the actual forced removal — and between them lies an entire procedure involving assessment of circumstances, deadlines, and the right of appeal.
As long as a Ukrainian national holds temporary protection under Section 24 of the Residence Act (AufenthG), there is almost no risk of deportation for them.
But this rule has a narrow set of exceptions, and it is worth understanding them in advance rather than at the moment an official letter is already sitting in the mailbox. It is precisely this lack of information that most often breeds panic: a person receives a standard notice about renewing documents or an administrative fine and perceives it as the first step towards removal, even though, formally, these things are not connected at all.
In this piece, we explain in plain terms which grounds the law considers legitimate for removal, how the procedure works in practice, and what rights every person facing such a decision has. We will discuss not only Ukrainians but also nationals of other countries, including those who have held permanent status in Germany for decades. We will look at the distinction between terms that are used interchangeably in everyday speech, even though the law attaches entirely different meanings to them, and we will show at what stage and in what way one can protect one’s interests.
Does deportation threaten Ukrainians?
Let’s start with the main question that concerns readers most. Ukrainians in Germany hold temporary protection under Section 24 AufenthG — this is a full residence permit, not a shaky interim status that can easily be revoked. As long as the document is valid, the person is in the country lawfully and is not among those obliged to leave it.
The temporary protection period has been extended at the EU level until 4 March 2027 — this decision was taken jointly by all member states of the bloc and applies to all Ukrainians with valid status, regardless of which German federal state they live in. Forced returns to Ukraine during the war are not happening in practice and cannot happen. There is currently no mass threat of deportation for people with valid protection — it is possible only in the narrow list of exceptions discussed below.
The main points in brief:
As long as Section 24 AufenthG is in effect, deportation does not threaten a Ukrainian — protection has been extended until 4 March 2027.
The order terminating a person’s right to remain (Ausweisung) and forced removal (Abschiebung) are different stages, not one and the same decision.
Deportation is preceded by an individual assessment of the interests of the person and the state, not an automatic decision.
The real grounds for removal are serious crimes, a threat to security, and loss of legal status.
Everyone has the right to a lawyer and to appeal a decision.
Note! The information provided does not replace legal advice — in any specific situation, you should consult a lawyer.
How the removal order differs from forced deportation
German law contains three terms that are treated as synonyms in everyday speech, although they denote entirely different things. It is precisely this confusion that most often becomes the source of unfounded fears and panicked accounts circulating on social media.
Ausweisung (Sections 53–55 AufenthG) is an administrative order that terminates a person’s lawful residence and creates an obligation to leave the country. It is not a sentence or an automatic measure, but the result of a weighed assessment of the interests of the parties — the state and the individual concerned.
Abschiebung (Section 58 AufenthG) is the actual forced removal itself. It takes place only after the obligation to leave becomes enforceable and no voluntary departure has followed. This procedure is carried out by the immigration authority (Ausländerbehörde), and it is far from instantaneous after the initial decision.
Abschiebungsanordnung (Section 58a AufenthG) is a special, expedited removal order applied in cases of terrorist threat or threat to national security; it can be issued without a prior Ausweisung order, since it concerns exceptional rather than ordinary situations.
Thus, several separate stages, spread out over time, lie between the initial decision and actual removal, and at each of them the person has the right to defend themselves, consult a lawyer, and file a complaint with the court.
On what grounds is deportation permitted
The key provision is set out in Section 53 AufenthG. Under it, a foreign national is expelled only if their presence threatens public safety and order, and if the assessment of all the circumstances shows that the public interest in their departure outweighs their personal interest in staying.
These definitions also include the deliberate incitement of ethnic hatred, physical violence motivated by xenophobia and chauvinism, repeated calls to violence, and other forms of similar conduct. Under the Citizenship Act (in its new version), people found guilty of such offences may even be stripped of citizenship, and, regardless of family status, are subject to removal…
At the same time, before making a decision, the court and the authority are obliged to take into account the length of the person’s residence in the country, their family and economic ties, and the consequences of the decision for the family, including minor children.
The specific list of grounds for removal is set out in Section 54 AufenthG. The state’s interest in expulsion is considered particularly weighty, in particular, in the case of a sentence of imprisonment of two years or more for an intentional crime. For a number of violent, sexual and drug-related offences, as well as xenophobia and certain instances of chauvinism, the threshold is lowered to one year, and for certain categories, to six months — underscoring the seriousness of the legislator’s approach specifically to these categories of offence.
Typical lawful grounds for removal:
- serious criminal offences resulting in a custodial sentence above the established threshold;
- a threat to national security or terrorism — the strictest category, governed by Section 58a;
- loss of legal status, where the permit has expired, was not renewed, or the grounds for its issue no longer apply;
- a rejected asylum application followed by an obligation to leave the country — this concerns those in the Asyl procedure, not holders of status under Section 24;
- providing false identity information or refusing to cooperate in establishing one’s identity — treated as an aggravating factor.
Offences based on ethnic hatred, including the repeated spreading of hostile statements.
According to migration lawyers in Germany, deportation is never automatic. The law explicitly requires an individual assessment of interests: on one side, the public interest in the person’s departure; on the other, the length of their residence, family ties, degree of integration, and the consequences for children and partners. Only if the public interest outweighs the personal one is a removal order considered lawful. Every such decision can and should therefore be challenged, and lawyers advise against treating the first letter as a final verdict.
In practice, this means that two people with formally identical violations can receive different outcomes: one may retain the right to remain thanks to many years of living in the country, employment, and minor children, while the other may not, if no such connecting circumstances are present in their case.
This is precisely why qualified legal support at an early stage often becomes the decisive factor: a lawyer helps gather and present to the authority exactly the evidence that the law considers relevant when weighing the interests involved.
Legal basis: Section 53 AufenthG (the Residence Act).
Which reasons for deportation occur most often in practice
In practice, the largest category among those deported consists of people whose asylum applications, or other applications for residence status, were rejected, and who were obliged to leave the country but did not do so voluntarily.
Next in frequency come loss of status, criminal convictions, and cases involving a threat to security or an anti-social stance. In other words, most real cases are rooted not in chance but in a completed and already lost administrative procedure.
According to statistics and press reports, around 22,800 people were deported from Germany in 2025. No official breakdown of these cases by specific grounds has been published, so any precise figures broken down by type of offence would be unreliable and should not be taken at face value. It is important to understand that these figures concern all foreign nationals in the country as a whole, not Ukrainians with protection under Section 24, for whom the situation is fundamentally different.
One point that often causes unnecessary anxiety is worth clarifying separately: being late in updating personal data or documents is not, in itself, grounds for deportation. It is an administrative offence for which a fine may be imposed — and it should not be confused with a removal order, which requires far more serious grounds.
Expedited deportation under Section 58a AufenthG
A separate and markedly rarer case is the removal order (Abschiebungsanordnung) under Section 58a AufenthG. It may be issued by the highest authority of a federal state without a prior Ausweisung order — solely to prevent a particular threat to national security or a terrorist threat. Such an order takes effect immediately, but the person must be given the opportunity to contact a lawyer, and an application for an urgent injunction (Eilantrag) can be filed within seven days of the decision being issued.
Migration lawyers stress that Section 58a is an exceptional instrument intended for terrorism and security-threat cases, not for the ordinary procedure, and it is applied extremely rarely and only to specific, carefully vetted cases. Even in this situation, the law guarantees access to a lawyer of one’s own choosing and the right to urgent judicial appeal within seven days. Deportation cannot be carried out if a removal ban under Section 60 AufenthG is in effect.
Legal basis: Section 58a AufenthG (forced removal order).
Can Ukrainian men who have already been granted protection status be sent back to Ukraine?
The legal status of Ukrainian men with temporary protection in Germany is not subject to retroactive revision!
The question of the fate of Ukrainian men who have already been granted temporary protection status in Germany has once again become a focus of gossip and discussion on social media, following changes to refugee admission rules announced by the European Commission.
While part of the public is discussing a possible tightening of conditions for newly arriving men of mobilisation age, lawyers point to a fundamental issue: legal guarantees granted earlier cannot be annulled retroactively by new rules.
Let us examine what this position is based on, and why the situation of Ukrainian men is legally more complex than that of other categories of refugees.
What protects a status already granted
Ukrainian men who obtained temporary protection in Germany under Section 24 of the Residence Act (AufenthG), which implements EU Directive 2001/55/EC, are covered by the principle of non-refoulement — the prohibition on returning a person to a country where they face danger.
This principle is enshrined in the 1951 Geneva Convention and its 1967 Protocol and is regarded as a peremptory norm of international law: it is binding on states regardless of the current political agenda, including matters of mobilisation and military service obligations in the country of origin.
Why the new rules have no retroactive effect for those already granted protection
Since 26 June 2026, the European Commission has been discussing restrictions specifically for newly arriving Ukrainian men of mobilisation age — chiefly men aged 23 to 60 whom the Ukrainian authorities have, by law, not permitted to leave the country because of military service obligations, as well as men under 23 who are voluntarily serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Official representatives of the European Commission, including Corinna Ulrich, a representative of the Directorate-General for Migration, and Magnus Brunner, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, have repeatedly stressed that the new requirements will apply only to men who apply for status after the rules come into force, and that protection already granted is not subject to revision, regardless of the recipient’s age or mobilisation status.
This proviso is not a gesture of goodwill but a direct consequence of the basic principle of legal certainty, known in the German legal tradition as rechtsstaatliche Bestandsschutz — protection of previously acquired rights.
It means that a change of rules for the future cannot retroactively cancel rights that a given man lawfully acquired before that change. This is precisely why even a potential extension of the Temporary Protection Directive to 4 March 2028, with new restrictions for men, creates no legal risk for those already under protection in Germany.
How the situation of Ukrainian men differs from the cases of Syria and Afghanistan
A comparison with earlier practice in granting protection to men from Syria and Afghanistan shows that the grounds in those cases were different. There, status was granted on the basis of a general danger persisting in the country of origin, without reference to any demographic or mobilisation-related criterion.
The situation of Ukrainian men is legally more complex precisely because of the military service factor: the restrictions currently being discussed in the EU introduce, for the first time, an age criterion directly linked to national mobilisation legislation, rather than solely to the level of general threat as such. At the same time, as European Commission officials have explained, this is not a matter of discrimination on grounds of sex, since the criterion is formally based exclusively on the norms of Ukrainian, not European, law, and concerns specifically those men who are prohibited from leaving the country.
Freedom of movement for Ukrainian men as a separate legal layer
Separate attention should be paid to the right to freedom of movement and free choice of residence, enshrined in Article 13 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 2 of Protocol No. 4 to the European Charter on the Protection of Human Rights.
This right also extends to Ukrainian men already under protection in Germany, but it exists on a different legal plane from state regulation of the conditions for granting protection itself: one does not cancel out the other, and both principles apply in parallel.
Restricting access to status for new categories of male applicants is not the same as restricting their freedom of movement as such — these are legal regimes of a different nature, which should not be conflated when analysing the consequences of a possible reform.
Thus, the discussion surrounding future EU rules does not affect the legal position of Ukrainian men already under temporary protection in Germany.
Their status is protected by a body of international and European legal norms — from the principle of non-refoulement to the guarantee of preserving previously acquired rights — and any new restrictions, even if finally adopted by the Council of the EU, will apply exclusively prospectively and will not affect men who have already lawfully obtained protection.
What rights a person has during the deportation procedure
This is the most important thing to remember: even a removal order can be appealed, and protection against actual removal often applies while the appeal is being considered — that is, receiving the letter does not mean the decision will take effect immediately.
Contact a migration lawyer immediately. The right to legal assistance applies at every stage of the procedure, and delay can cost precious days needed to prepare an objection. If funds are insufficient, free legal aid and advice centres are available, which can be contacted directly.
File an objection or a lawsuit. Orders of the immigration authority are challenged through an objection (Widerspruch) and/or a lawsuit (Klage) before the administrative court (Verwaltungsgericht). Against decisions of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) on asylum matters, an objection is generally not filed — a lawsuit is filed directly, and it is important not to confuse the two procedures.
Watch the deadlines and file an urgent application on time. If a decision does not have automatic suspensive effect, an Eilantrag — an urgent application — is filed, often within one week. While it is being considered, protection against removal applies, which allows time for full preparation of the case.
An ordinary lawsuit often suspends enforcement of the decision until the court rules — this is called suspensive effect (aufschiebende Wirkung). But in the case of refusals deemed “manifestly unfounded,” automatic suspension is not provided for — here, a timely filed urgent application becomes decisive, and time is counted quite literally in days.
According to migration lawyers, when removal is factually or legally impossible — for example, because of the situation in the country of origin — a person receives Duldung status, a temporary suspension of removal under Section 60a AufenthG. Duldung is not a residence permit, but it protects against forced removal for as long as the obstacles persist. This is precisely why lawyers strongly advise against hiding or ignoring the procedure, and instead recommend acting openly — through a lawyer and the courts.
Legal basis: Section 60a AufenthG (Duldung — temporary suspension of removal).
It is worth emphasising separately that Germany’s appeal system is built so that a person always has time to defend themselves. Administrative courts examine cases on the merits rather than formally, and take into account all evidence submitted — from employment certificates to letters from the school where the applicant’s children study. This distinguishes the German procedure from simplified models in which a removal decision cannot be challenged on the merits.
When exceptions for Ukrainians are possible
For Ukrainians with valid protection under Section 24 AufenthG, no general threat exists: as long as the status is valid, the person is in the country lawfully, and this rule has no hidden caveats. The exceptions remain narrow and concern the same grounds as for all other foreign nationals — the law does not provide for any separate, stricter practice specifically applied to Ukrainians.
Serious crimes or a threat to security. A conviction for serious offences under Sections 53–54, or cases involving security under Section 58a, can lead to a removal order even where protection remains valid — status under Section 24 does not confer immunity from criminal liability.
Loss of grounds for status under Section 24. Certain third-country nationals who held only temporary Ukrainian residence permits lost their entitlement to protection under Section 24 as of 5 March 2025. This change does not concern citizens of Ukraine itself and does not affect their status in any way.
If the validity of one’s status is approaching its end, the decision should not be put off to the last day — it is worth finding out in advance about the possibilities of switching to another type of residence permit once Section 24 protection ends, and checking whether protection status in Germany and the EU can be extended, in order to avoid ending up in a legal vacuum.
What to do if an order arrives
If a letter arrives from the immigration authority or the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, there is no need to panic, but you must act quickly and methodically:
- do not ignore the letter and keep the envelope — the date of receipt matters for calculating deadlines;
- contact a migration lawyer immediately;
note the deadline for filing an appeal — often one to two weeks — and do not miss it; - find out whether you need to file an urgent application (Eilantrag) to preserve protection against removal;
- gather evidence of ties to Germany — employment, family, education, integration;
- check whether your status under Section 24 is still valid and whether it needs to be renewed.
Frequently asked questions
Can a Ukrainian with valid status under Section 24 be deported? As long as the status is valid, the person is in the country lawfully and is not subject to removal. The exceptions are serious crimes, a threat to security, or loss of the grounds for status.
Are people deported to Ukraine during the war? Forced returns to Ukraine during the war are not happening in practice. The temporary protection period has been extended until 4 March 2027.
Can a removal order be appealed? Yes, through an objection and/or a lawsuit before the administrative court, and if necessary, through an urgent application to preserve protection against removal while the case is being considered.
Is someone deported over an expired document? Being overdue in itself is an administrative offence for which a fine may be imposed, not grounds for deportation. Nevertheless, documents should be renewed in a timely manner.
What is Duldung? A temporary suspension of removal under Section 60a AufenthG, applied when removal is factually or legally impossible. It is not a residence permit, but it is protection against forced removal.
So what’s the bottom line?
Under German law, deportation is a multi-stage procedure with a mandatory assessment of interests, not a decision taken arbitrarily and without explanation. For Ukrainians with valid temporary protection under Section 24 AufenthG, there is currently no threat of removal, and this protection has been extended until 4 March 2027 — giving people a substantial margin of time to plan their lives in Germany.
The real grounds for deportation remain narrow — serious crimes, a threat to security, and loss of legal status, as well as offences rooted in ethnic hostility, including the spreading of hateful statements online — and at every stage of the procedure a person has the right to consult a lawyer and appeal the decision in court. Knowing these rules does not eliminate anxiety, but it turns it into a concrete plan of action rather than an endless fear of the unknown.
This material is purely informational in nature and does not constitute legal advice. It has been prepared on the basis of official sources — a website containing the texts of Germany’s federal laws, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), and the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) — as of June 2026. Legislation may change, and every situation is individual. In any specific case concerning termination of residence or deportation, you should consult a licensed migration lawyer or the immigration authority at your place of residence.
Sources: the texts of Sections 53–60a of the Residence Act (AufenthG); the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF); the migration-law information portal asyl.net; the Federal Ministry of the Interior of Germany (BMI).
Latest Posts
