Freie Wähler on migration and integration

The Free Voters want refugees to be able to finish their vocational training and then work for two years before their residence status is reassessed. This is meant to give businesses planning certainty.

Some refugees are doing vocational training. The Free Voters want them to be allowed to finish it. After that they should be able to work for two years. Only then does the state check again whether they may stay.

The rule would apply to refugees who are willing to integrate and to work hard. Their residence status would be reviewed only after they complete training and two years of practical work. If the review is then negative, the person keeps the training, which the party describes as the best form of development aid.

The Free Voters call for a joint European border force that secures the entire EU external border and turns back irregular migration. Until that works, the Federal Police are to turn people back at Germany's borders.

The Free Voters want a shared border force for Europe. It should protect the outer borders of the EU. All EU countries should pay for it. Until this works, the Federal Police should turn people back at German borders.

The force would be made up of contingents from EU member states and receive enough staff, equipment, and a suitable legal basis. Countries such as Italy and Greece are not to be left alone, and all member states would share the costs. The platform argues that this is the only way to avoid permanent checks at internal borders. As an interim step it calls for targeted turn-backs at the German border, also because neighboring states let migrants travel on.

The Free Voters consider the Dublin system a failure and want it revised. They reject distributing refugees among EU states; instead, direct returns and refusals of entry should come first.

The Dublin rules say which EU country handles an asylum claim. The Free Voters want to change these rules. Refugees should not be shared out among EU countries. They should rather be sent back. Germany should make its rules stricter.

The platform aims for a European solution and demands that Germany tighten its migration rules and align them with European law. The EU itself is to solve the problem instead of leaving it to individual states. If necessary, the EU would run and pay for reception and return centers near the external borders. The platform also considers an asylum claim misplaced when someone has already passed through several safe countries.

The Free Voters want to prevent people from drowning in the Mediterranean while having those rescued taken back while still at sea where possible. Private sea rescue is to be placed under EU border protection command or stopped.

No one should drown in the Mediterranean. Smuggler boats should not set out at all. Rescued people should be taken back quickly. Private rescue ships should follow EU border guards. Otherwise they should no longer be allowed to operate.

The first priority is to stop smuggler boats from setting out. States from whose coasts the boats depart and that do not cooperate on taking people back are to face tangible sanctions. If the route can be proven, for example by satellite images or drones, the return is to be enforced. Organized civilian rescue would be integrated into the command structure of European border protection or halted.

The Free Voters want immigration to follow the needs of European countries and to recruit workers in a targeted way. Integration is to follow the principle of support paired with obligations.

The Free Voters want immigration based on need. People should come for certain jobs. Immigrants should learn German. They should accept democracy. The state should support them in this.

Recruitment is to be open and transparent for specific occupations, regions, or cities, with the ability to integrate also playing a role. Countries of origin should, where possible, not be weakened by the departure of well-educated people. The platform names German language skills, willingness to gain job qualifications, and acceptance of the free democratic order as essential for integration. The state is to provide support for this and counter the emergence of parallel societies.

The Free Voters want to prevent EU freedom of movement from leading to immigration into the German welfare system. Travel by non-EU benefit recipients is to be registered, and asylum seekers who voluntarily travel home would permanently lose their entitlements.

The Free Voters want less abuse of welfare benefits. A register should record trips by non-EU citizens who get benefits. Some asylum seekers travel to their home country by choice. They should then get no more support. This should apply forever.

The platform argues that all EU states are themselves obliged to provide social protection, so no one is left unprotected and false incentives disappear. For people without EU citizenship who receive benefits in Germany, a register would record every entry and exit. Security, welfare, and justice authorities would have access to it. A further demand is that the federal government cover all costs of immigration, integration, and deportation in order to relieve municipalities.

The Free Voters demand that people classified as security threats and refugees who have committed crimes be deported or detained immediately. Anyone who commits serious or repeated offenses is to be made to leave Germany quickly.

Some people are seen by police as a serious threat. The Free Voters want to deport or lock them up at once. This should also apply to refugees who commit crimes. Some cannot be deported. They should be held in deportation detention.

If someone cannot be deported because of missing papers or because the country of origin will not take them back, they are to be treated as a security risk and placed in deportation detention. Deportations are to be carried out so that a return is not to be expected; agreements with safe third countries are to be negotiated for this. Serious offenders are to remain in custody or be handed over into custody. Which countries count as safe third countries is to be defined uniformly across the EU.

The Free Voters want to write naturalization rules into the Basic Law so they can only be changed by a two-thirds majority. Naturalization would be possible after seven years at the earliest, and dual citizenship with non-EU countries would remain the exception.

The Free Voters want stricter rules for German citizenship. People should get it after 7 years at the earliest. They need good German for this. Two passports should be rare. The rules should be in the constitution.

The platform justifies anchoring the rules in the constitution by saying that naturalization and voting law are fundamental to living together and can so far be changed by a simple majority. Requirements for naturalization would be good language skills, proven loyalty to the constitution, and demonstrated integration. Dual passports with countries outside the EU would be allowed only in a few individually justified cases. Immigrants and stateless people could receive travel documents before naturalization but would not be allowed to vote.

The Free Voters want asylum applications examined in centers beyond the EU's external borders, where applicants stay during the procedure. In addition, the EU is to conclude readmission agreements with countries of origin jointly. The platform calls fast procedures and the return of rejected asylum seekers essential.

The Free Voters want asylum requests checked outside the EU. There should be centers there for this. People wait there for the decision. The EU should pay for the centers. The EU should also make deals with home countries. Then rejected people can return more easily.

EU staff would process applications quickly in the centers; the facilities are to meet minimum humanitarian standards, respect human dignity and be paid for from EU funds. Instead of separate deals by each member state, the EU is to push readmission agreements. Cooperating countries of origin would get preferential treatment in European development cooperation and economically, with money going only to vetted projects and organizations. Countries that do not cooperate are to face sanctions.

The Free Voters want asylum to be claimable only in the first safe third country, and thus generally not in Germany. Anyone entering illegally or with smugglers would be barred from permanent residence. Legal entry routes are to be created for recruited immigrants to undercut the smugglers' business.

The Free Voters want to fight smugglers. Smugglers take people across borders illegally for money. People who enter illegally should not be allowed to stay for good. People should only ask for asylum in the first safe country. That is usually not Germany. There should be legal ways for recruited people.

In countries of origin, it is to be communicated forcefully that illegal border crossing and smuggling rule out permanent residence in Germany. Only people who arrive legally and through recruitment would have a long-term prospect. For people in need of protection, the platform envisions solutions in the region of origin, secured militarily under a UN mandate if necessary. The party also regards refugee centers in third countries as a pragmatic route.