CDU on migration and integration

The CDU wants to fully implement the EU's reformed asylum system (GEAS) and house asylum seekers in central facilities until their claims are decided. The payment card for asylum seekers would stay permanently, and the party wants to act against dubious migration agencies.

The CDU wants faster asylum procedures. Asylum seekers should live in large central shelters. This lasts until a decision is made. The payment card should stay. It replaces cash. Dubious agencies should be stopped.

The CDU affirms the right to asylum but wants to limit irregular migration and reduce incentives it sees as wrong. Asylum procedures under the GEAS reform would be clearly structured and quick, with housing in central facilities from day one. The payment card for asylum seekers would become permanent. Dubious recruitment agencies would be investigated, authorities and those affected informed, and an official list of reputable agencies created.

The CDU wants tougher enforcement of departure orders: more pre-deportation custody places, detention also for people repeatedly under criminal investigation, and deportations year-round even if not all family members are present. Leaking deportation details or helping people evade removal would be punished or lead to loss of funding.

The CDU wants more deportations. More people should be held before removal. Deportations should also happen in winter. They should go ahead even if family members are missing. Leaking deportation dates should be a crime.

Reception centers, state agencies, welfare offices, and police would cooperate more closely, and residence data on people required to leave would be recorded centrally. Tolerated-stay permits (Duldung) would be systematically reviewed for obstacles to deportation. Removals would proceed on the first attempt even without all family members, and year-round; custody capacity would rise substantially, and deportation detention would extend to people repeatedly subject to criminal investigations. A Bundesrat initiative would make it a crime for non-officials to disclose flight data on deportations. Anyone spreading guidance on evading deportation would be excluded from public funding.

The CDU wants stricter handling of naturalization. Only those who accept the democratic constitutional order and Israel's right to exist and meet all legal requirements would be naturalized. Grounds for refusal would be examined carefully and applied consistently.

The CDU wants stricter rules for German citizenship. People must accept democracy. They must also accept Israel's right to exist. All rules must be met. Offices should check carefully.

Requirements for citizenship would include accepting the free democratic basic order, committing to the rule of law, and fully meeting legal requirements. Recognition of Israel's right to exist is explicitly named. Grounds for refusal under Sections 10 and 11 of the Nationality Act would be carefully examined and consistently applied.

Through a "Berlin Creative Tech Program for Start-ups," the CDU wants to make it easier for international founders and tech professionals to come to Berlin. Visas are to be issued faster and access to the EU Blue Card widened.

The CDU wants to bring skilled workers from abroad to Berlin. This is about tech and creative jobs. Visas should come faster. More people should get the EU Blue Card. That card lets people work in the EU.

Plans include faster visa procedures, multilingual services and dedicated contact persons. The fast-track procedure for skilled workers under Section 81a of the Residence Act is to be used specifically for creative and tech jobs and supplemented with fixed appointment quotas. Berlin's Business Immigration Service is to be expanded. The Blue Card is to be open to IT professionals without a university degree and to the creative sector, and applications are to be handled entirely online.

The CDU wants to revise the Partizipationsgesetz (participation law for people with a migration background) passed by the previous red-green-red coalition. In its view, the law conflicts with the Basic Law, under which public-sector hiring may be based only on aptitude, performance and qualifications.

Berlin has a law to include migrants more. It is called the participation law. The CDU wants to change it. It says public jobs should depend only on skills. Where someone comes from should not count.

The law was passed by the SPD, Greens and Left coalition. The CDU points to the Basic Law's merit principle for hiring in the public service. In its position, a migration background must not override these criteria.

The CDU wants to restrict access to social benefits for citizens of other EU countries and backs a recommendation of the welfare reform commission to that end. For EU citizens stranded in Berlin without prospects, it relies on return programs.

Some people from other EU countries live in Berlin without work or a home. The CDU wants to help them go back. They should get fewer social benefits. The rules on moving within the EU should be checked more strictly.

The CDU calls for swift implementation of the restriction at national and European level. EU free movement rules are to be reviewed more rigorously. Together with the federal government, it wants home countries to provide social support to those affected locally.

The CDU wants integration to follow the principle of support and obligation: more job-related language courses and state integration centers in every district, but also mandatory participation. In its view, anyone who wants to live in Berlin must learn German and actively integrate.

The CDU wants to help immigrants. But it also expects effort from them. Immigrants should learn German. Every district should get an integration center. There they find courses and advice.

Language courses at adult education centers are to be tailored more to jobs and the labor market, together with businesses and training providers. Work opportunities under Section 5 of the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act, meaning community work for benefit recipients in districts and at social organizations, are to be expanded. A mentoring program modeled on Canada's, with volunteer mentors, is to be set up. Curricula of orientation courses and civic education materials are to be revised to focus on personal responsibility, gender equality, religious freedom, preventing antisemitism and the rule of law.

The CDU rejects housing refugees in gyms and other public facilities. As long as their residence status is unresolved, they are to live centrally in large accommodation centers.

The CDU does not want refugees living in sports halls. The halls should stay free for sports and school. Refugees should live in large shelters. This applies until it is clear if they can stay.

In the CDU's view, gyms and public facilities should remain available for sports, education and community life. The large accommodation centers are also to provide schooling and care. Housing is to be orderly and centralized.

The CDU wants to support international skilled workers and Berlin businesses with recruitment and integration and to speed up recognition of foreign vocational qualifications. At the same time, it wants to crack down on dubious recruitment agents.

Berlin needs skilled workers from abroad. The CDU wants to help them. Their degrees should be recognized faster. The CDU wants to stop dishonest job agents.

Companies and training firms are to receive support in recruiting, relocating and integrating foreign skilled workers. Recognition procedures are to become simpler. The CDU wants to take firm action against dubious agents and illegal providers who exploit people from abroad.

The CDU requires those seeking citizenship to clearly commit to Germany and its values. Naturalization should be revocable if false information was given, and documents are to be checked rigorously.

Some people want to become German citizens. The CDU says they must clearly support Germany. People who lie should be able to lose their citizenship again.

Applicants are expected to be willing to integrate, accept equality between women and men and reject antisemitism, racism and extremism. This includes a commitment to Germany's historical responsibility and to protecting Jewish life. Documents and information are to be checked closely to stop fraud involving fake certificates and fraudulently obtained residence permits or passports.