As of: February 19, 2024, 12:57 p.m
By: Dominik Stallein
Comments
Press
Split
Chatting in the help center: Bocar Traore, Victor Iwekumo and Ute Mitschke explain to Bundestag member Karl Bär how the opportunity residence law works in practice.
Requirements: knowledge of German, no criminal record. Many asylum seekers are not allowed to work © Sabine Hermsdorf-Hiss
They have been in Germany for nine years.
Thanks to a change in the law, two refugees are finally allowed to work as carers.
Wolfratshausen – Bocar Traore has been working since he arrived in Germany.
For him it's natural.
And he's not picky either.
“The main thing is to work,” he says.
Bundestag member Karl Bär listens, Victor Iwekumo nods in agreement.
Iwekumo fought for a long time to be allowed to take a job.
Nine years to be exact.
This was unsuccessful for a long time.
Thanks to a change in the law that was co-initiated by Bär's Green Party, the father of Nigerian origins finally sensed his chance for a secure future with his own earnings.
“The main thing is to work”: Opportunity residency rights open up new perspectives for two refugees
The “right of residence with opportunity” allows the two Africans to prove themselves on the job market for 18 months and, if everything goes well, to stay permanently - even though their asylum application had actually already been rejected.
The special thing about this regulation: Only refugees who have lived in Germany for at least six and a half years can apply for the opportunity residence permit.
Victor Iwekumo came in 2015. To this day he doesn't know what's next for him.
But he knows what he would like.
Iwekumo would like to become a German citizen and stay in Wolfratshausen.
“I won’t leave here anymore,” he says, smiling broadly.
He has settled in in the region, is raising his child and has even found an apartment - "with a landlord who has a social streak and who gives up a lot of money," as asylum worker Ute Mitschke explains.
Because Iwekumo is a special case with its own place to stay.
“Finding an apartment is almost impossible,” she says.
Bocar Traore cannot afford a place to stay for a family of four on the rental market in the south of Munich on the salary of a nursing assistant.
“No chance,” he says.
Requirements: knowledge of German, no criminal record
That's why some asylum seekers worry that after the 18-month period they will be banned from working again and that the possibility of a permanent right to remain will be lost.
Green politician Bär encouraged the two participants.
As far as he knows, an apartment is not a condition without alternatives.
However, a few other aspects are non-negotiable.
On the one hand, the workers must remain unpunished – “no problem,” says Iwekumo.
They also have to prove German language skills at A2 level – “that should work,” says Mitschke.
And they have to find a job.
“They want me to continue working there anyway,” reports Traore.
He had experienced a situation like this before.
At that time it ended unpleasantly.
You can read the latest news from Geretsried here.
The father of the family from Mali worked at a publishing house until 2019.
He organized shipping, storage and packaging of greeting cards in the warehouse.
“The boss wanted to give me training,” remembers the 43-year-old.
Then mail came from the office – a ban on working.
After his asylum procedure, Traore no longer had permission to stay, but only a toleration permit.
What sounds like a trivial matter actually makes a huge difference in the reality of life for asylum seekers.
Bär wanted to know from Traore what he had been doing all the time when he wanted to but wasn't allowed to work.
“I looked after my family – and helped with the asylum helper group.” Mitschke agrees.
What hurt the Malian during this time: “When I went for a walk and passed people, some of them complained about me.” About the asylum seeker who doesn't work.
What they didn't know was that he would much rather have been working than walking.
Both men work in a care facility in Geretsried.
They are happy there, even if it is not an easy job.
“It’s work,” says Iwekumo.
And work is a good thing.
Many asylum seekers are not allowed to work despite the prospect of a nursing job
The Nigerian told his story to the Green Party politician.
After a few years of working in a nursing home, the 35-year-old was also banned from working.
His asylum application: rejected.
Like so many procedures.
Bär knows that many refugees are rejected - even though they would be willing to take on jobs for which skilled workers are urgently needed.
“We have to try to get these cases out of the asylum procedure and into the career path,” says Bär.
That is the approach of the opportunity residence law.
The fact that nursing staff who are willing and able to work are banned from working is difficult to convey given the current staff shortage.
One attempt is the “right of residence opportunity” introduced by the red-green-yellow traffic light government.
For asylum worker Ute Mitschke, it is a sensible model: “There are many people here who have been waiting for years to finally be able to do something meaningful” - because they do not want to live on social benefits or live in accommodation.
By the way: Everything from the region is also available in our regular Wolfratshausen-Geretsried newsletter.