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Dossier: Security in the asylum procedure ,
Security in the asylum procedure , , The Federal Office focuses on verifying asylum seekers' identity and country of origin, cooperating closely with security authorities and carrying out prevention work.
Source: AdobeStock | Rüdiger Kottmann
Unfamiliar and new: this is how most people seeking protection in our country from war, persecution or unlawful treatment tend to feel about Germany. It is only in the course of their stay that they get to know and become familiar with their country of refuge. For the German authorities, refugees and immigrants should not and must not be of unknown identity at any time: the clear establishment of identity and country of origin is a key component of the asylum procedure – and the examination of both begins the moment asylum seekers first make contact with the authorities.
Establishment of identity forms the basis
The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees not only plays an important role in establishing identity and carrying out checks on persons in the asylum procedure, it is also a central actor in the field of security – especially in connection with migration to Germany. To this end, the Federal Office liaises closely with the security authorities and law enforcement authorities of the Federal Government and the Länder. As the central coordinating authority, the Federal Office also makes an important contribution to security-related prevention and de-radicalisation work with regard to Islamist radicalisation.
Dr. Hans-Eckhard Sommer, The President.
Source: © BAMF | Lopez
In 2016, so-called "Integrated Identity Management" was implemented nationwide in Germany. This means that after crossing the border refugees are clearly registered at the first point of contact in the Federal Republic of Germany – by the police at the border or by the Federal Office and the authorities of the Länder at reception facilities and arrival centres. "We want to know who is entering our country – that is our top priority. By taking fingerprints that are immediately cross-checked with the relevant security authorities via a core data system, clear identification is ensured and multiple registrations are reliably prevented,"
the President of the Federal Office, Dr Hans-Eckhard Sommer emphasises.
Technology supporting expertise
The comparison of asylum seekers' biometric data with national databases and with the databases of the European Union represents the first stage of verifying their country of origin. In 2020, for instance, more than 50 percent of asylum seekers were unable to present identity documents that could have sufficiently established their country of origin or identity. In these cases in particular, the Federal Office relies on IT assistance systems in addition to personal interviews to further determine asylum seekers' identity and country of origin. Personal interviews naturally remain the key element for verifying an asylum seeker's identity and country of origin. This involves, among other things, assessing the asylum seeker’s credibility as a whole together with the information obtained from IT assistance systems in order to reveal any discrepancies.
Source: AdobeStock | freshidea
The Federal Office is the only German authority that systematically examines all types of identity documents – passports, passport substitute documents, ID cards, civil status documents – in order to verify their authenticity. The most state-of-the-art testing equipment is used to process all foreign identity documents in Germany. At the physical and technical document examination unit, the authenticity of documents presented by asylum seekers as proof of their identity in the asylum procedure is checked by the Federal Office's document experts. In order to prevent counterfeit documents from re-entering legal circulation, they are confiscated and the Federal Office reports them to the competent Land Criminal Police Office (Landeskriminalamt) using a coordinated central agency procedure.
Security is only possible holistically and collectively
It is not just asylum seekers who have to undergo strict checks. So-called resettlement refugees who have neither the prospect of integration nor of a return to their country of origin in the country where they first seek refuge and who are therefore admitted to Germany have to undergo strict checks too. Since their need for protection has already been determined by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), meaning they no longer need to go through an asylum procedure in Germany, these security checks take place before they enter the country. In any case, admission to Germany only takes place after a selection interview has been carried out by the Federal Office and an examination has been conducted by the security authorities.
The importance of the security aspect in the asylum procedure and as part of migration in general is also reflected in the Federal Office’s organisational structure. As far back as 2017, the Federal Office created a separate "Security" section within the authority, which includes a central reporting and coordination office for security-relevant incidents. In addition, the Federal Office employs so-called "special officers for security in the asylum procedure" at the arrival centres and branches. These officers raise employees' awareness of security-related issues and coordinate cooperation with the security department of the Federal Office’s main seat. As part of its tasks, the Federal Office is active in the field of security at the inter-agency centres, including the Joint Counter-Terrorism Centre (GTAZ), the Joint Centre for Countering Extremism and Terrorism (GETZ) and the Joint Centre for Illegal Migration Analysis and Policy (GASIM).
Security issues are often linked to radicalisation phenomena. Here too, the Federal Office occupies a key position in the German security architecture: the Federal Office is the Federal Government's centre of competence in the field of "Islamist (de-) radicalisation" and is hence the central interface between state and non-state de-radicalisation work, prevention and security authorities' threat prevention. The "Radicalisation" Advice Centre based at the Federal Office acts as a nationwide point of contact and coordination office. Its work is supported by practical research conducted at the Federal Office's Research Centre on approaches to de-radicalisation. In addition to the counselling hotline for the social environment of radicalised persons, the responsible section maintains a comprehensive counselling network and oversees the monitoring of returnees from jihadist combat zones.