Immigration and Citizenship in Germany

1
Immigration and Citizenship in Germany

• Legal and Constitutional Aspects
• Migration trends
• Guest workers
• Policy Reform

2
Traditional Approaches to Immigration and
Citizenship

• History of Law of 1913 Inclusive Goal of
  defining German National identity. Today seen as
  restrictive.
• Legal definition of who is German? Soil (jus
  soli) vs. Blood (jus sanguinis)?
• Germany is not a Land of Immigration vs. the
  Reality

3
Guest Workers

• Economic recovery and labor shortages
• Contracts for workers on temporary basis
• Family Reunification
• Social Change to a non-acknowledged
  Multi-cultural reality

4
Migration patterns

• Post-war Expellees and refugees
• From 1955, Gastarbeiter, first from Italy
• Later Recruitment from Balkans and Turkey
• End of Cold war and Re-unification East Germans,
  wave of ethnic Germans from Soviet Bloc, Economic
  or Political Asylum-seekers
• Within EU Principle of Freedom of Movement
• EU Enlargement Polish workers

5
German Demographics

• Low German birth rate
• Long term population decline
• East German Out-migration

6
Policy Change

• Post-Unification Influx Asylum-seekers, Illegal
  migrants,
• East German internal migration
• Soviet bloc ethnic Germans claiming citizenship
• Under Kohl 1993 Const. Amendment
• Under Red- Green Redefining Citizenship
• Failed Green card recruitment

7
Politicization of Immigration?

• In Europe Rise of anti-immigrant parties like FN
  in France, Lega Nord in Italy, others in Austria
  (Haider), Denmark, Belgium (Vlaams Belang),
  Netherlands (Pym Fortuyn and successors)
• German elite consensus holding?
• Limited regional successes of extremist parties
  NPD, DVU, Reps

8
2004 Immigration Law

• Context 7.3 million foreign residents
• One half are Muslim, of which 70 are Turks
• New law requires those seeking permanent
  residence to take German language, culture,
  history,
• No assimilation recognizes parallel cultural
  worlds