Funding process for asylum procedure advice , Date: 2024.11.08, format: Article, area: Asylum and refugee protection

Asylum seekers face special challenges. The asylum procedure advice is intended to ensure that asylum seekers already receive advice and support before their hearing and, if required, until the incontestable conclusion of their asylum procedure, in the form of confidential personal consultations on their individual asylum procedure. Asylum procedure advice is provided by non-statutory welfare associations and other civil society actors. It is provided independently of the authorities, impartially, free of charge, individually and voluntarily. The funds required for implementation are provided by the Federal Government in the form of grants awarded under a funding program. The BAMF is the approving authority responsible for implementing the funding program.

Funding process for asylum procedure advice

Since the entry into effect of the German Act on Accelerating Asylum Court Proceedings and the Asylum Procedure (Gesetz zur Beschleunigung der Asylgerichtsverfahren und Asylverfahren) on 1 January 2023 and the funding guideline for the implementation of asylum procedure advice (AVB) and legal advice for vulnerable applicants (RB) of 20 September 2024 (Funding Guideline AVB), Joint Ministerial Gazette (GMBL) 2024, No. 37, p. 778 et seq., the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) has been responsible for the implementation of the funding process for asylum procedure advice as the approval and supervisory authority. Those interested in receiving funding can find information on the required criteria, such as requirements for the staff providing advice and current calls for tenders, on the BAMF website. Calls for funding processes are published on BAMF’s website on a regular basis.