10. Remigrants [Spätaussiedler]
• Introduction of proof of German language competency for the family members of remigrants as a prerequisite for inclusion in the admission notice (basic knowledge of German), Federal Act on Refugees and Expellees, Section 9 (1).
• The Integration Course Ordinance [Integrationskursverordung] takes effect on January 1, 2005.
11. Coming into Effect and Timetable
• After the passing of a cross-party resolution by the German Bundestag on July 1, 2004, and the granting of Bundesrat approval on July 9, 2004, the Immigration Act was executed by the Federal President on July 30, 2004, and announced in the Federal Law Gazette [Bundesgesetzblatt] on August 5, 2004.
• The authorizations on the decree of statutory ordinances take effect the day after the announcement. The essential portions of the authorizations pertain to regulations on the implementation of the Immigration Act, on the shaping and implementation of the integration courses, and on the acceptance of employment within the framework of the legal ban on recruitment. The federal government will immediately work out the necessary draft ordinances and will become engaged in proceedings when certain ordinances require the approval of the Bundesrat, so as to ensure that the ordinances pertaining to the execution of the Immigration Act on January 1, 2005, are applied in a timely manner.
• Additional parts of the Immigration Act take effect on September 1, 2004. This will have a particular impact on the allocation of tasks in the area of integration to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. In the future, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees will function in this area above all as a center of expertise. The necessary measures to effect this transition will be undertaken quickly.
• Additionally, as of September 1, 2004, individual decision-makers in the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees will no longer have the option of departing from their obligation to follow instructions in matters of asylum, and the Office of the Federal Commissioner for Asylum Matters is to be abolished. This will speed up proceedings and lead to the standardization of the decision-making procedure.
• The main aspects of the Immigration Act, and particularly the regulations that form the basis of decisions envisaged by the Alien Act, take effect on January 1, 2005.
Source of English translation: Federal Ministry of the Interior, Berlin, “Details of the Immigration Act.” This translation was edited and added to by GHI staff.
Source of original German text: Immigration Act [Zuwanderungsgesetz, ZuWG] (Press Report, 2004), www.aufenthaltstitel.de/stichwort/zuwg.html
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