Last Updated on June 1, 2021 by LawEuro
Asylum Act (Germany)
Chapter 3
General information
Section 5
Federal Office
(1) The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Federal Office) shall decide on asylum applications. In accordance with this Act, the Federal Office shall also be responsible for measures and decisions taken under foreigners law.
(2) The Federal Ministry of the Interior shall appoint the head of the Federal Office. He shall ensure the proper organization of asylum proceedings.
(3) In consultation with the respective Land, the head of the Federal Office should set up a branch office at each Central Reception Facility for Asylum Applicants (reception centre) with a capacity to accommodate 1000 persons or more on a long-term basis. He may set up additional branch offices in consultation with the Länder.
(4) The head of the Federal Office may arrange with the Länder to supply the necessary material and personnel resources in order to fulfil his duties in the branch offices. The staff supplied shall be bound to the same extent as the staff of the Federal Office by his technical instructions. The details shall be governed by means of an administrative agreement between the Federation and the Land.
(5) The head of the Federal Office may arrange with the Länder for reception centres to host foreigners coming under fast track procedures pursuant to Section 30a (special reception centres). The Federal Office shall set up branch offices at these special reception offices pursuant to the first sentence or assign branch offices to them. Special reception centres shall be governed by the same rules as reception centres, unless this Act or other legal provisions stipulate otherwise.
Section 6
Binding effect of decisions under asylum law
Decisions on asylum applications shall be binding in all matters in which the recognition as being entitled to asylum or to international protection as defined by Section 1 (1) no. 2.are relevant in law. This shall not apply to extradition procedures or to procedures pursuant to Section 58a of the Residence Act.
Section 7
Collection of personal data
(1) The authorities responsible for implementing this Act may, for the purpose of implementing this Act, collect personal data as far as necessary to fulfil their duties. Data within the meaning of Section 3 (9) of the Federal Data Protection Act and corresponding provisions in the data protection acts of the Länder may be collected insofar as needed in individual cases to fulfil duties.
(2) The data shall be collected from the data subject. They may also be collected from other public authorities, foreign authorities and non-public agencies without involving the data subject if
1. this is allowed or expressly required by this Act or another legal provision;
2. it is obviously in the interest of the data subject and there is no reason to assume that he would refuse his consent if he were aware of his personal data being collected;
3. the cooperation of the data subject is not sufficient or would require an unreasonable effort;
4. the task at hand, by its very nature, makes it necessary to collect data from other persons or agencies or
5. it is necessary in order to verify information provided by the data subject.
Data may only be collected on the basis of sentence 2, nos. 3 and 4 and from foreign authorities or non-public agencies if there are no indications that overriding legitimate interests of the data subject might be affected.
(3) The asylum procedure files kept by the Federal Office are to be destroyed and deleted in the Office’s data management system no later than ten years after the incontestable conclusion of the asylum procedure. This shall not affect the destruction or deletion of such files and data in line with other legal provisions.
Section 8
Transmission of personal data
(1) Upon request (Section 7 (1)), public authorities shall inform the authorities responsible for the implementation of this Act of any circumstances that have come to their knowledge, provided that this does not conflict with particular legal provisions on the use of such information or with the overriding legitimate interests of the data subject.
(1a) If and when criminal proceedings are instituted against data subjects, the authorities responsible for instituting these proceedings are to inform the Federal Office without delay about
1. the fact that public charges have been filed, provided a term of imprisonment of at least three years is expected;
2. the fact that public charges have been brought on account of one or several wilful crimes committed against life, physical integrity, sexual self-determination, property or on account of resisting law enforcement officers, provided the data subject used violence, threatened to endanger the physical integrity of individuals, or acted fraudulently, and provided a term of imprisonment or youth custody of at least three years is expected; and
3. the completion of criminal proceedings
a) through an incontestable sentence to a term of imprisonment of at least three years,
b) through an incontestable sentence to a term of imprisonment or youth custody of at least one year on account of one several wilful crimes committed against life, physical integrity, sexual self-determination, property or of resisting law enforcement officers, provided the data subject used violence, threatened to endanger the physical integrity of individuals, or acted fraudulently;
c) in any other way, provided the responsible bodies informed the Federal Office pursuant to nos. 1 or 2 beforehand.
(1b) The supreme Land authority or the body designated by it may transmit the personal information about a foreigner’s physical, psychological, mental or sensory impairment which the Federal Office needs to duly carry out the hearing. The data may only be used for this purpose and are to be deleted afterwards.
(2) The competent authorities shall immediately inform the Federal Office of any formal extradition request submitted by a foreign state and any request for arrest received in conjunction with the announcement of an extradition request and of the conclusion of the extradition procedure, if the foreigner concerned has filed an asylum application.
(2a) The authorities entrusted with implementing this Act shall inform the competent authorities under Section 10 of the Act on Benefits for Asylum Applicants of any circumstances or measures under this Act that are required for the payment of benefits to those entitled to benefits under the Act on Benefits for Asylum Applicants as well as of any work permits granted to these persons that said authorities have been informed of and information on the expiry, revocation or rescinding of work permits.
(3) The data collected under this Act may, for the purposes of enforcing the Residence Act and for the health care of asylum applicants as well as for criminal prosecution measures and, upon request, for the prosecution of administrative offences, be transmitted to the public bodies in charge of these measures and be processed and used by them, as far as this is necessary for them to perform the tasks for which they are responsible. The data may be transmitted to the bodies mentioned in Section 35 (1) of the Social Code, Book I, and processed and used by them as far as necessary to identify and prosecute the unjustified receipt of benefits under the Social Code, Book XII, of health and accident insurance benefits or of unemployment benefits or subsistence benefits under the Social Code, Book II, and where there are actual indications as to such unjustified receipt of benefits. The data collected under this Act may be transmitted to and processed and used by the Federal Employment Agency to the extent that this is necessary for it to fulfil its tasks pursuant to the Social Code, Book III. Section 88 (1) to (3) of the Residence Act shall apply accordingly.
(4) The data recorded during the asylum procedure may be transmitted and processed to the extent necessary for a decision by the Federal Office to admit the data subject to an integration course pursuant to Section 44 (4) of the Residence Act or to job-related language training pursuant to Section 45 (2), third and fourth sentences, of the Residence Act.
(5) The transmission of data on the basis of other legal regulations shall remain unaffected.
(6) The provision in Section 20 (5) of the Federal Data Protection Act and corresponding provisions in the data protection acts of the Länder shall not apply.
Section 9
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(1) The foreigner may contact the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The UNHCR may present his views regarding individual applications for asylum to the Federal Office. The UNHCR may have access to foreigners, including those in detention and in airport transit zones.
(2) At the request of the UNHCR, the Federal Office shall provide the UNHCR with the information necessary to fulfil his tasks under Article 35 of the Convention relating to the status of refugees.
(3) Decisions on asylum applications and other information, in particular the grounds for persecution given, may, unless presented in an anonymous form, be transmitted only if the foreigner himself has applied to the UNHCR or if the foreigner’s consent is otherwise documented.
(4) The data may be used only for the purpose for which they were transmitted.
(5) Subsections (1) to (4) shall apply accordingly to organizations acting by order of the UNHCR on the federal territory on the basis of an agreement with the Federal Republic of Germany.
Section 10
Provisions concerning delivery
(1) During the asylum procedure, the foreigner shall ensure that communications of the Federal Office, the responsible foreigners authority and any court he has resorted to can reach him at all times; in particular, he shall inform the aforementioned agencies of any change of address without delay.
(2) The foreigner shall accept any notifications and informal communications at the most recent address indicated in his asylum application or of which he informed the agency in question if he has neither appointed an authorized representative nor designated an authorized receiving agent for the procedure or if notifications or communications cannot be delivered to these. The same shall apply if the last known address at which the foreigner resides or is required to reside, has been communicated by a public agency. The foreigner shall accept notifications and informal communications of public bodies other than those listed in (1) which are mailed to the address at which he shall accept notifications and informal communications of the Federal Office pursuant to the first and second sentences above. If the communication cannot be delivered, it shall be regarded as having been delivered at the time of mailing even if the communication is returned as undeliverable.
(3) Where family members as defined in Section 26 (1) to (3) have applied for asylum jointly and where the same address is valid for all family members pursuant to subsection 2, certain decisions and communications for them may be combined in one notice or one communication and delivered to one family member of full legal age. The address shall list all family members of full legal age to whom the decision or the communication is addressed. The decision or communication shall explicitly state to whom it applies.
(4) A reception centre shall deliver any notification and informal communication sent to the address of the reception centre to those foreigners who, under subsection 2 above, shall accept such notifications and informal communications. Mail delivery and distribution hours for each working day shall be publicly displayed. The foreigner shall ensure that incoming mail can be given to him at the reception centre within the mail delivery and distribution hours. On being given to the foreigner, any notification and informal communication shall be delivered; in other cases they shall be regarded as having been delivered three days after being delivered to the reception centre.
(5) Provisions on substituted delivery shall remain unaffected.
(6) Should it be necessary for a communication to be delivered outside the federal territory, delivery shall be made by public notice. The provisions of Section 10 (1) sentences 2 and 3 and (2) shall apply.
(7) At the time of application, the foreigner shall be informed of these service provisions in writing and the foreigner shall acknowledge the receipt of this information.
Section 11
Exclusion of administrative appeals
There shall be no right to to file an administrative appeal against measures and decisions issued in accordance with this Act.
Section 11a
Temporary suspension of decisions
The Federal Ministry of the Interior may temporarily suspend decisions of the Federal Office under this Act for certain countries of origin for up to six months, if the assessment of the asylum and deportation situation requires special clarification. Suspension pursuant to sentence 1 may be extended.
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