The debate surrounding German immigration law has taken a dramatic new turn. In a widely discussed guest article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), migration expert Dr. Holger Kolb compared the established Western Balkans regulation to the diesel engine : once a celebrated, pragmatic innovation, now supposedly an obsolete model that must be replaced by cleaner, more modern technologies. The future CDU/CSU-SPD coalition government is following this line of reasoning and plans,...

For many long-term residents , the dream of German citizenship is the final step toward successful integration. However, while the new citizenship law, since its recent reform in 2024, has brought significant relief to most applicants, people with chronic illnesses or physical disabilities often face a seemingly insurmountable bureaucratic hurdle. In our advisory practice, we are increasingly seeing the Berlin State Office for Immigration ( LEA ) rejecting applications based on the receipt of...

Foreigners who wish to work in Germany generally require not only a residence permit but also explicit permission to work . According to Section 4a, Paragraph 3 of the Residence Act, whether and to what extent gainful employment is permitted must be documented in the residence permit – this is the so-called publicity requirement . A residence permit must therefore make it clear whether employment is permitted and, if so, under what conditions. In most cases, the note “gainful...