Paradox: Frankfurt am Main immigration office blames law for slow processes

You've cleared all the hurdles: a visa was issued by a German embassy or consulate, the authenticity of your documents was painstakingly verified, and you're finally standing on German soil. You feel safe, because the rule of law has prevailed. But then you enter the Frankfurt Immigration Office – and suddenly the word of a German embassy means nothing. You 're sent away . Not because the law requires it, but because the authorities "would prefer it that way."

A bizarre spectacle is currently unfolding in Frankfurt. While the head of the immigration office loudly complains in the press about "crazy laws" that supposedly stifle any efficiency, a look behind the scenes reveals a completely different reality. It's often not just the legal regulations that are holding the system back, but rather an administrative practice that goes beyond what is legally required and hinders itself . When an authority complains about being overburdened, but then, for example, ignores established review processes of other government agencies in order to send those affected through additional, unnecessary loops via local citizen service centers, this can no longer be justified by pointing to "bad laws."

In the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), the head of the immigration office justifies the long waiting times with a "straitjacket of 119 possibilities" prescribed by law. But how credible is this complaint when the same office has frequently been the cause of process complications in the past ? This reveals a profound problem in immigration law: a culture of mistrust prevails. The much-lauded accelerated skilled worker procedure promises speed, but the reality is often a digital mess. The head of the Frankfurt office rightly complains that documents sometimes still have to be physically transported back and forth by authorized representatives. But the truth is also this: digitization is not an end in itself. It is meant to simplify procedures. However, if at the end of the digital chain sits a case worker who continually complicates the process, even the best law is useless.

The issue of work permits is particularly critical. While businesses are desperately searching for staff, highly qualified individuals often find themselves unemployed through no fault of their own because communication between the immigration office and the Federal Employment Agency breaks down for weeks . It's easy to criticize the federal government and "crazy laws" while exploiting loopholes within one's own sphere of responsibility to unnecessarily complicate the lives of applicants. There may be some crazy laws, but they are no license for an administration to obstruct itself beyond what is legally required.