The Federal Council has approved a far-reaching reform of the right of residence. Well-integrated foreigners who have been living in Germany for years without a secure status are given a perspective with the so-called right of residence.
Anyone who has lived in the country for five years as of October 31, 2022 and has not committed a crime should have 18 months to meet the requirements for long-term residence. This includes, for example, knowledge of German and securing your own livelihood.
The law did not require approval. The Federal Council refrained from appealing to the mediation committee, so that the law can now come into force.
“We face the realities”
“With this law, we are opening a new chapter in migration and integration policy,” said Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter. “We face the realities and recognize the fact that many people who are required to leave the country have been living in Germany for years, behaving in accordance with the law and have become a part of our society.” They should be given a perspective for permanent residence. This skilled labor potential should not be left idle.
Saarland’s Prime Minister Anke Rehlinger (SPD) emphasized that the law could only be the first building block of a modern immigration policy. “We need more legal and regulated immigration options, otherwise our business location will suffer massively.”
