Germany looks at new approaches for processing refugees - Deutsche Welle‎

Germany has 770,000 unprocessed asylum applications. How can the stack be reduced? The responsible authorities have devised an ambitious plan to ensure that everything goes faster, DW's Kay-Alexander Scholz writes.
About 370,000 people in Germany are waiting for decisions on their asylum applications, according to an estimate by Frank-Jürgen Weise, the director of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). He estimates that another 300,000 to 400,000 people within the country have not yet submitted applications. Some people may have registered several times in attempts to receive asylum status, others may have already left Germany, and still more people may have chosen not to register at all, choosing instead to live in the shadows. This "unacceptable" situation must soon come to an end, Weise said.

At the end of 2015, BAMF employed 3,500 people. In mid-2016, the number is expected to reach 6,300 - with an additional 1,000 helpers brought in from other government bodies. These are the people who decide who gets to stay in Germany. At the beginning of 2015, 360 people made such decisions, and at the end of the year, 1,000. In the summer of 2016, the number is expected to rise to 1,700. By the end of 2015, the number of asylum decisions made each day rose to 2,000. A new goal of 6,000 decisions per day has been set. This means that up to 1.2 million people could be processed annually.

BAMF has based its calculations on an expected 500,000 new applications for asylum in 2016. Should more people seek protected status, the numbers would go beyond the scope of current planning and the German government would have to spend more money for staff; otherwise, Weise said, the stack of "longstanding" applications will grow.

Under one roof
Applicants will now be taken straight to 20 new arrival centers, with at least one located in each state. At the center, each applicant's particulars will be entered into a central database. The federal police will verify the authenticity of identity documents and check backgrounds to see whether applicants have criminal records. Medical staff will carry out checkups. If everything is in order, the person will receive a "proof of arrival" document. This written confirmation will allow access to accommodation, food and other assistance. The arrival centers will also be responsible for asylum applications. - Read More at the refugees

Germany looks at new approaches for processing refugees