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The Federal Office examines each asylum application on the basis of the German Asylum Act as to whether one of the four forms of protection – entitlement to asylum, refugee protection, subsidiary protection, or a ban on deportation – applies.
Forms of protection
Note on definitions:
The term "refugee" is often used in everyday language as a general synonym for people who have been displaced, but the law on asylum only understands it as covering recognised refugees in accordance with the Geneva Refugee Convention, that is individuals who are given refugee protection once their asylum proceedings have been completed. There are however three more forms of protection where a right to asylum can be granted, if they are applicable. As the authority responsible for implementing the law on asylum, the Federal Office distinguishes more precisely, that is between the following groups of individuals:
Asylum-seekers: individuals who intend to file an asylum application but have not yet been registered by the Federal Office as asylum applicants.
Asylum applicants: asylum applicants whose asylum proceedings are pending and whose case has not yet been decided on.
Persons entitled to protection and persons entitled to remain: individuals who receive an entitlement to asylum, refugee protection or subsidiary protection, or who may remain in Germany on the basis of a ban on deportation.
The stages of the German asylum procedure (brochure)
The examination of asylum applications is one of the most important tasks performed by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. This brochure will provide you with information on individual aspects of the asylum procedure.
