Migration partnerships
Article Migration
Practical partnership agreements with key countries of origin which uphold human rights standards are an important element of the Federal Government’s policy on migration. These agreements (migration partnerships) can encompass cooperation on returning people whose applications for asylum in Germany have been denied as well as technology transfer and the expansion of economic cooperation. In addition, easier access to visas, training measures to prepare for the German labour market and employment marketplaces help to recruit the skilled workers that Germany urgently needs. Migration partnerships are specifically tailored to each country. Some of them are based on international treaties (migration agreements), while others are based on memorandums of understanding (MoUs) or the establishment of bilateral working structures for practical and trusting cooperation.
The office of the Federal Government Special Commissioner for Migration Agreements, within the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community, was created in 2023 to negotiate such agreements, providing important new ideas for the external dimension of migration policy. These agreements are closely coordinated with the relevant federal ministries.
Establishing and permanently implementing migration partnerships are long-term tasks. The European Union’s Pact on Migration and Asylum, too, calls for the EU and its member states, within their respective competences, to promote and build “tailor-made and mutually beneficial partnerships” with non-EU countries in the area of migration and asylum. We have successfully embarked on this path and will continue to actively pursue it.
The Federal Government has set itself the goal of redesigning its migration policy. Migration partnerships aimed at establishing lasting cooperation with migrants’ countries of origin are a key element of this new policy. Our country urgently needs the immigration of skilled workers in order to remain prosperous. At the same time, migration partnerships require the partner countries to readmit their nationals who have no right to stay in Germany.
In its coalition agreement, the Federal Government set out comprehensive reforms intended to bring about a paradigm shift to reduce irregular migration and increase legal migration. These reforms comprise a variety of measures. One of these measures is the negotiating of migration agreements by the Federal Government Special Commissioner for Migration Agreements, Dr Joachim Stamp, which is intended to build lasting and comprehensive cooperation with migrants’ countries of origin. Alongside this approach of developing extensive migration partnerships, the responsible bodies in the federal and state governments are continuing their existing cooperation on returns with countries of origin.
