Germany is a Country of Immigration

A lot done, a lot more to do: Mainstreaming social participation, promoting skilled worker immigration and refugee integration

The 2019 Annual Report of the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration takes stock of developments in relation to integration and migration over the past few years. Actions taken in these fields focused on asylum and refugee policy. The guiding... More ...

Berlin, 22 October 2019. While the European Union has called on Member States to expand channels for foreign workers as a way to meet labour market needs and potentially tackle spontaneous migration, they have struggled to deliver on this pledge. To date, policies have focused more on attracting high-skilled workers, but less attention has been paid to admission of low-... More ...

Berlin, 24 September 2019. More students than ever before are studying for a degree in Germany. Nonetheless, one in six of the country’s 263 public universities and universities of applied sciences are shrinking. The reason is demographic change. Low birth rates and the depopulation of certain regions of Germany mean that the number of domestic students is declining in some... More ...

New SVR Annual Report: What can immigration and integration laws do to better steer migration and promote integration?

The SVR Annual Report 2018 explores the legislative possibilities for steering migration and promoting the social participation of all. It summarises the existing legal situation at the national and EU levels and points to political fields of action as well as the limits... More ...

Refugee Integration: Use Standard Structures, Not Special Programmes A Fresh Start for EU Refugee Policy: More Europe, and A Different Europe

SVR’s 2017 Annual Report outlines proposals for further development of EU refugee policy. Tiered model for EU-wide rights of free movement for recognised refugees as a way to distribute responsibility fairly in the EU. Closer cooperation with transit countries is... More ...

“All Rights for Everyone”: the German policy of positive neutrality toward religion has proven successful at fostering integration, but questions remain

The SVR’s 2016 Annual Report looks at religious diversity in Germany as an immigration country and the resulting institutional, political and legal challenges. Equal institutional treatment of Islam is on the right track, but there are still open issues. The... More ...

The Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration (SVR) presents guidelines for refugee policy in Europe. The current refugee crisis requires a fair system of refugee distribution with the involvement of every EU Member State. This also includes the introduction of a permanent distribution mechanism which is mandatory for all Member States.

Berlin, 15 September 2015. As a... More ...

In its Annual Report, now out in English, the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration (SVR) compares Germany’s migration and integration policies with the policies of selected EU countries as well as with traditional immigration countries such as Canada and the USA. In its recommendations for action, the SVR advocates fair burden-sharing in the EU: collective reception... More ...

International students are ‘model immigrants’ for the labour markets of their host countries. But although the majority would like to stay and work after graduation, many international students fail to find adequate employment. SVR’s Research Unit presents the results from the first international mapping of local support structures for the study-to-work transition of international students in Canada, Germany, the Netherlands... More ...

More refugees than ever before are dying on their way to safe European ports. At the same time, the ever-increasing number of asylum applications in the European Union puts pressure on the asylum systems in some member states. Collective EU reception procedures could provide relief. SVR’s Research Unit and SWP propose joint EU contingents for resettlement and temporary protection. By... More ...

Germany has joined the ranks of progressive immigration countries in an international comparison – SVR calls for overall migration policy concept which also strategically positions Germany as an immigration country

The SVR’s sixth Annual Report compares Germany’s migration and integration policies with the policies of selected EU countries as well as with traditional immigration countries such as Canada and the USA.... More ...

Overall Assessment and Works in Progress: Labour Migration Largely Liberalised – Integration Policy Lacks Momentum

The SVR’s annual report examines Germany’s transformation to a modern immigration country over the past five years: progress has been made in migration policy while integration policy is characterised by ambivalence. In the area of education in particular there is still a great need for... More ...