Asylum Application Rejected

It is your right to take legal actions against the BAMF's decision. 

In the event of a lawsuit, a court will examine whether the rejection of the asylum application was lawful and whether you are eligible for protection status.

A counselling centre or lawyer can tell you if taking legal action makes sense in your case and what steps it entails. Find more information below under “Where can I find counselling and support?”.

You must submit your claim to the relevant administrative court. The administrative court responsible for your case is specified in your notification/decision from the BAMF. It is crucial to seek the assistance of a lawyer when filing a claim.

In Germany, it is legally regulated that people who receive social benefits such as asylum seeker benefits and people whose income is insufficient can receive financial support for court proceedings. The costs of the lawsuit may therefore be covered in whole or in part by the state. Under certain circumstances, you may have to repay the money later. You can find out more about it at handbookgermany.de.

Refugees who receive a "simple" rejection ("enifachen Ablehung") have 2 weeks to file a lawsuit. The deadline starts from the moment you receive the BAMF notice. The delivery date of the letter counts as the beginning of your deadline. Therefore, keeping the envelope may prove useful later. 

If your application is rejected as "inadmissible" ("unzulässig") or "obviously unfounded" („offensichtlich unbegründet“), you have one week to submit the lawsuit to the competent administrative court and file an "urgent appeal" ("Eilantrag"). If the court accepts the urgent appeal, you can stay in Germany during the legal proceedings. Otherwise, you may be deported, even though your complaint is still in process. Attention: If you submit an urgent appeal while your application has been rejected as "inadmissible" ("unzulässig") under the Dublin regulation, your six-month transfer period will start over. In such a situation, legal advice and support from a lawyer is crucial. You can find out more about the Dublin Regulation in our chapter ‘Dublin procedure’.

If there is no time to talk to a counselling centre or a lawyer, you can personally go to the competent administrative court and file your complaint in writing or orally. You can download complaint sample forms for simple rejection, rejection as "inadmissible", and rejection as "obviously unfounded" and fill and submit it to the court. The relevant administrative court is specified in the rejection notice you receive from the BAMF. Good to know: At each administrative court, there is a legal applications office ("Rechtsantragstelle") which can help you with the complaint. Please note: After you have filed the lawsuit yourself, you have two weeks to inform the court why the BAMF's decision is incorrect. The grounds for your claim must be written by a lawyer. You can find out how to find one on Life Initiative.

In the case of "simple" rejection or when your urgent appeal has been accepted, you must not be deported during the court proceedings. Before the court concludes your case, you may keep your temporary residence permit ("Aufenthaltsgestattung") and continue to receive asylum seeker benefits. It often takes a long time before the court decides. You may have to wait for a year or more. You can use this time to learn German and start vocational training, for example.

 After you file the complaint, the Administrative Court examine your reasons for flight and the decision of the BAMF once again, i.e. the judges will read the minutes of your hearing, review your evidence, and then, usually invite you to a court hearing, in which you will be interviewed again. After all that, the court decides about your asylum application:

If the judge concludes that you meet the requirements for asylum rights, refugee status, subsidiary protection or a national ban on deportation, the BAMF's rejection will be revoked and you will be granted a residence permit .

 If the judges confirm the BAMF's decision and do not recognise you as being entitled to any forms of protection, your complaint will be dismissed, and your obligation to leave Germany remains valid.

When the administrative court comes to a decision, the asylum procedure is often considered to be concluded. If the judge confirms the BAMF's decision, your lawyer can also apply for approval for submitting an appeal ("Zulassung der Berufung"). If the Higher Administrative Court ("Oberwaltungsgericht") accepts your lawyer's request, your asylum application will be examined again-but keep in mind that the Higher Administrative Court rarely approves such appeal requests. Appeal requests are accepted when, for instance, crucial questions (e.g. about your reasons for flight) have remained unanswered, or in cases which the judges hold very different viewpoints on an issue.

If there is new evidence regarding your persecution or new circumstances occur (e.g. a change of government in your home country), you have the right to apply for asylum again, i.e. you can submit a subsequent asylum application („Asylfolgeantrag “). 

There are other situations in which a follow-up asylum application is possible, for example in the case of diagnosed physical or mental illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

A counselling centre or lawyer can tell you if a new asylum application is plausible and useful. 

You can find out how to find a lawyer on Life Initiative.

You must personally submit the subsequent asylum application to the BAMF's branch office in the initial reception facility where you used to live. If you have left Germany in the meantime, you are obliged to reside in an initial reception facility for a maximum of 6 months again, and once more, residence restrictions (“Residenzpflicht”) apply to you, i.e. you cannot leave your city unless you receive permission from the Immigration Office. You can learn more in this regard under “Temporary Stay Permit” ("Aufenthaltsgestattung".)

If your asylum application has been rejected and you have been granted a “Duldung”, it means that you are still required to leave the country, but your deportation has been temporarily suspended.

You can find all the important information about temporary leave to remain and options for obtaining a more secure residence permit under ‘Duldung’.

If you are very well integrated in Germany and would find yourself in a very difficult situation due to deportation, it is possible to obtain a residence permit via a hardship application ("Härtenfallantrag"). The chances are higher for people who speak German well, attend school, go through vocational training, study or have the prospect of a job. Furthermore, the prospects are better for individuals involved in voluntary work who have many friends and acquaintances in Germany who can support them with a hardship application.

The interior ministry of your federal state of residence decides whether your case must be recognised as a case of hardship– each federal state has a so-called hardship commission ("Härtefallkommision") for the purpose. They can inform you whether you can fill a hardship application and the relevant steps you must take.

You can contact any member of the Hardship Commission.

On basiswissen.asyl.net, you can find links to the hardship commission responsible for you. Please note: part of the information is only available in German.

It is recommended to seek advice from a lawyer or counselling centre in advance. They can tell you how significant your chances are.

In most cases, asylum counselling centres will help you submit your application to the Hardship Commission. 

 You can learn how to find a counselling centre or lawyer in the section ‘Where can I find advice and support?’.

You can contact an counselling centre and ask whether a petition or church asylum might be an option for you. You can also contact counselling centres with any other concerns you may have.

You can search for asylum counselling in your area on BAMF-Navi. You can also take advantage of the services offered by MBE and JMD. You can also search for an advice centre in your federal state on proasyl.de. Or use the Pro Asyl individual case advice service via email in German and English. In addition, a refugee council can offer you support. You can find the refugee council responsible for you on fluechtlingsrat.de. You can find out how to find a solicitor on Life Initiative.