International Co-operation
Asylum and migration are always about crossing borders and are therefore by definition international topics. The logical implication is that the Federal Office participates in European and other international networks, establishes exchanges with partner authorities and international organisations, and places staff abroad.
Bilateral exchange
Bilateral exchange with European and other international partner organisations is firstly guaranteed by steady deployment of liaison personnel but also occurs at event-related meetings or on study visits.
The aim is to learn from each experience and to form contacts to handle topics jointly as well as to co-ordinate responses to common challenges. Many countries have used this framework particularly to learn about German approaches to asylum procedures and to obtain information on asylum seekers’ countries of origin and integration.
Work in international networks
Meeting in networks leads above all to a rapid exchange of information and current topics being discussed. Widely applicable phenomena can be better understood and tackled by comparing and evaluating a wide range of statistical data. In addition best practices and expert knowledge can be shared. Depending on the approach, exchanges in networks can take place formally with the aim of making joint decisions or informally on political or practical levels.
European co-operation naturally plays an important role here.
In addition, the Intergovernmental Consultations on Migration, Asylum and Refugees (IGC) are an important forum for the Federal Office. The IGC enables an informal exchange for managing international migration flows. Besides European states, the USA, Canada and New Zealand are also members of the IGC. The forum works on a practical basis in regular working group meetings on various topics and on a political basis in regular committee and panel meetings. Germany is an active member of the IGC and from 2011 to 2012 will take on the chairmanship for the second time
Co-operation with International organisations
Countless organisations are working in the refugee and migrant field. Organisations working on an international basis have a comprehensive picture of the situation in various countries, the reasons for migration and local problems. These organisations, which deploy workers in many countries, are ideal partners for international projects in the areas of asylum and migration. The Federal Office co-operates particularly with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), e.g. also in the area of voluntary repatriation
Liaison personnel
Based on an agreement between the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the German Foreign Office to speed up asylum procedures as well as to support the Federal Office's migration research, voluntary repatriation and integration departments, civil servants from the Federal Office are working at the following diplomatic representations abroad. (This is in addition to liaison officers' assignments with partner authorities.):
- German Embassy, Ankara (Turkey)
- German Embassy, Baku (Azerbaijan)
- German Embassy, Moscow (Russian Federation)
- German Embassy, Teheran (Iran)
- German Embassy, Pristina (Kosovo)
In addition, Federal Office employees are assigned to conduct admission procedures for Jewish immigrants from the successor states of the former Soviet Union at the following foreign representative offices:
- German Embassy, Kiev (Ukraine)
- German Embassy, Moscow (Russian Federation)
- German Embassy, Tashkent (Uzbekistan)
- German Consulate General, St. Petersburg (Russian Federation)
