Over 47,000 Migrants Granted Temporary Residence Under Germany’s Opportunity Residence Act

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Almost 50,000 migrants have regularised their stay in the country in the last year, since the act entered into force in December 2022.
• The main nationality groups to benefit from the act were Iraqis, Russians, Nigerians and Lebanese.
• The act will remain in place for another two years - until December 2025 and migrants who want to regularise their stay in Germany and meet certain criteria are encouraged to apply.

A total of 47,531 migrants, previously living with ‘tolerated status,’ have been granted temporary residence permits under the Opportunity Residence Act one year after its launch date, the German interior ministry has reported.

According to the ministry, over 47,000 applications have been approved, granting migrants long-term residency to those who have been residing in Germany for at least five years without secure legal status. Most applicants hailed from Iraq, followed by Russia, Nigeria, Lebanon, and Iran.

While the announcement made public the number of approvals, the German interior ministry did not provide details on the number of rejected applications or those still in the processing pipeline, as reported by the dpa news agency.

The Opportunity Residence Act, which entered force on December 31, 2022, allows individuals living in Germany for five years or more, by the cut-off date of October 31, 2022, to apply for a temporary residence permit for themselves as well as their relatives. However, applicants must meet certain criteria, including a clean criminal record and being transparent with authorities regarding their identity.

Successful applicants have an 18-month period of time to fulfil requirements for long-term residence, including demonstrating proficiency in the German language and proving that they can support themselves. During this period, they can benefit from their legal status and will have access to the labour market, further easing the conditions necessary for meeting the long-term residency criteria.

According to The German government estimations, approximately 136,868 individuals are eligible to benefit under the Opportunity Residence Act. Within the first six months of its introduction, nearly 50,000 people had already applied, showing a high interest among the migrant population to be regularised. The majority of applications filed during this period have been approved.

The Opportunity Residence Act is valid for three years, and applications can be submitted until December 30, 2025. This legislation represents a significant step towards providing stability and legal recognition to a large number of migrants who have long been residing in Germany without secure legal status, offering them a chance to integrate into the community and contribute to the German society and economy.

According to a survey, the number of migrants applying for the permits is different in different states: in Berlin and Bavaria about 58 per cent of those eligible have applied, but in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), the state with the largest population in Germany, only about one third had done so. The rate of rejection was relatively low across the states, the survey revealed, at about four per cent in NRW and six per cent in Bavaria and Lower Saxony.