BSW on migration and integration

The BSW wants to control and limit migration, by its own account without discrimination. Anyone who breaks the law should have to leave the country. The party affirms the right to asylum, puts integration first and ties intake to the state's capacity.

The BSW wants less immigration. Immigration should be controlled. People who commit crimes should have to leave Germany. The right to asylum should stay. The party cares about migrants fitting in well.

In the program's view, migration so far has overwhelmed municipalities and residents in Thuringia. To counter rising crime by foreigners, the BSW relies on community-oriented police and fast courts. The party opposes asylum abuse and immigration into the welfare system. Residents of Thuringia should have a say in the scale and design of legal migration. For the BSW, the state's capacity is the yardstick for successfully integrating refugees.

The BSW wants to stop what it calls uncontrolled migration. Asylum applications should be filed and decided at the EU's external borders and in third countries. Only people granted protection should receive support and social benefits in Germany.

The BSW wants less immigration. Asylum claims should be checked outside Germany. This should happen at the EU's outer borders. Or in other countries outside the EU. Only people with protection should get money here.

The program backs the constitutional right of asylum for persecuted people but notes that only one to two percent of arrivals receive protection under asylum law. The number of newcomers should stay within limits that, in the BSW's view, do not overwhelm society. Distribution of refugees should follow the capacity of local governments. The BSW considers skilled-worker immigration useful where there are real shortages. People in Thuringia should have a say in the scale and design of legal migration.

The BSW wants to systematically ensure that people required to leave, those without residence status, and migrants who commit crimes leave the country. Asylum seekers obliged to leave should receive only the constitutionally required subsistence minimum, as in-kind benefits. A payment card should make transfers abroad harder.

Some people must leave Germany. The BSW wants them to actually leave. Criminals should be deported. People who must leave should get goods, not cash. A payment card should make sending money abroad harder.

The program cites more than 200,000 registered people obliged to leave in 2023, almost 50,000 of them without a temporary suspension of deportation (Duldung). Those who oppose the laws and the liberal democratic order should no longer be supported by the state. As a rule, only people who obey the law should be allowed to stay. The payment card is also meant to hinder payments to smugglers. At the same time, the BSW wants to counter racist currents and radical Islamism.

The BSW wants foreign qualifications recognized when they match German standards, followed by prompt work permits. Asylum seekers should take on simple jobs while their case is pending. This is meant to ease the burden on social systems and help integration.

The BSW wants immigrants to start working sooner. Foreign degrees should be accepted more easily. They must match German standards. Asylum seekers should do simple jobs early on.

The program sees labor market access as a key condition for integration. Foreign skilled workers should be recruited where needed, with support programs. The BSW criticizes that the employment rate of refugees is much higher in many European countries than in Germany. In the BSW's view, anyone seeking refuge should be willing to learn German and to work.