A Tougher Future for Emigrants
The ruling Social Democrats-Greens coalition moved the previous "Draft Bill" as it is after it was abrogated for irregularities in the voting procedures in the local assemblies by the Constitutional Court following the first vote last year.
It is expected that, the Draft Bill will be refused by local assemblies.
Citizenship is conditioned with full adjustment
Since Germany is actually an immigrant country, the coalition government, who urges for reshaping migration and immigration policies, is rather more focused on controlled migration, limiting and directing the migration.
* The Bill was drafted with an eye to the needs of German economy and the demands of German labor market as well as adjusting the foreigners to German conditions.
The Bill also arranges the unification of families.
Under the new Bill the unification of families is tied to a new basis. Excluding exceptional cases, over twelve-year-old are barred from moving to Germany to stay with their families living there.
Young people who are to migrate together with their family, are subject to 18-year-age barrier. A further prerequisite is good conduct of German language and political asylum status of their parents.
Public aid will be reduced
The Immigration Bill, also includes new provisions concerning prospective immigrants.
* Those who are faced with political prosecution will not be deported and prohibition from work for the candidate-immigrants will be lifted. To speed up the asylum proceedings, public aid for the immigrants will be reduced.
* Federal Authorities are entitled to set up committees for granting or extending the duration for work permits. In extending the duration for work permits, humanitarian or personal reasons for the necessity or urgency of staying in Germany will be searched for.
* The resident aliens are required to attend to compulsory adaptation courses, which include such subjects as language, history, culture and the essentials of the state of law and they will share the expenses of the courses.
Main opposition Christian Union opposes the Immigration Bill, pointing to the inefficiency of adaptation measures.
Domestic politics spokesman Wolfgang Bosbach of the union parties' common assembly group is of the opinion that practically the Bill will promote immigration.
Bosbach says, "the rise in the number of immigrants makes adaptation even harder, increases the problems in labor market rather more than reducing them and swells the integration problem.(PT)