Unaccompanied children who are not immediately refused entry or returned after having entered Germany irregularly, are taken into provisional care of the youth welfare office (Jugendamt) in the municipality in which they had their first contact with authorities or in which they have were apprehended.[1] In this stage of ‘preliminary taking into care’, the local youth welfare office examines which youth welfare office is ultimately responsible and whether the minor can be subjected to the federal distribution procedure (for details see Age assessment).[2] In 2023 it has been criticised that children remain in this preliminary stage for up to eight months due to overburdening of local authorities in urban areas. In this preliminary stage children only have access to emergency psychological assistance, legal representation and youth care services and are often not enrolled for school.[3]
After the responsible youth welfare office has been determined, the regular taking into care procedure is initiated. This procedure is subject to youth welfare law and analogous to the taking into care of youth in situations where their welfare is in acute danger. It includes the appointment of a legal guardian by the competent Family Court and the so-called ‘clearing procedure’, which includes an examination of whether there are alternatives to an asylum application, such as family reunification in a third country or the application for a residence permit on humanitarian grounds.[4]
The guardian represents the minor in all legal matters and is the first contact point for all ‘proceedings pertaining to asylum and residence law’, including the asylum procedure.[5] The legal guardian has to file the asylum application for the unaccompanied minor in written form to the responsible BAMF branch office.[6] The guardian acts as the minor’s legal representative, but also as a personal contact person with whom unaccompanied minors can develop perspectives for the future and contribute to the assistance planning procedure carried out by the youth welfare office.[7] While the personal interview is conducted with the minor themselves, the legal guardian is present during the interview and may ask them additional questions (i.e. in case the minor forgot to mention an important aspect). They may also request to file statements or explanations on behalf of the minor.[8]
In the majority of cases, the youth welfare office acts as guardian for the minor. Often, guardians appointed by the youth welfare offices are not in a position to sufficiently support the children in the asylum procedure, because of overburdening, as some guardians in youth welfare offices are responsible for up to 50 minors at the same time.[9] In 2023 it has been noted that the maximum number of 50 is not kept anymore because there are not enough legal representatives available.[10]Another challenge is the lack of specific knowledge of asylum laws, especially among voluntary guardians but at times also in youth welfare offices.[11] Voluntary guardians do not have to complete a specific training, but generally the youth welfare office carries out an aptitude test.[12] In some Federal States, training is offered to legal guardians by state authorities or NGOs.[13] It has been noted that the current legal situation is not in line with relevant provisions of the recast APD and other European legal acts which state that children should be represented and assisted by representatives with the necessary expertise.[14]
[1] Gesetz zur Verbesserung der Unterbringung, Versorgung und Betreuung ausländischer Kinder und Jugendlicher, Official Gazette I of 28 October 2015, 1802. The most important regulations of the law are summarised in Federal Association for Unaccompanied Refugee Minors, Vorläufige Inobhutnahme – Was ändert sich zum 1.11.2015?, October 2015.
[2] See Julian Tangermann and Paula Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik, ‘Unaccompanied Minors in Germany – Challenges and Measures after the Clarification of Residence Status’, Study by the German National Contact Point for the European Migration Network (EMN). Working Paper 80 of the Research Centre of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, March 2018, available in English at https://bit.ly/3KcEEe6, 27.
[3] Federal Association for Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (BumF), Es ist 5 nach 12: Rechtsverletzungen bei unbegleiteten geflüchteten Kindern und Jugendlichen, 21 November 2023, available in German at: https://bit.ly/3UiVX4x.
[4] See for example: Handreichung zum Umgang mit unbegleiteten minderjährigen Flüchtlingen in Nordrhein-Westfalen 2017 (recommendations for the treatment of unaccompanied minor refugees in North Rhine-Westphalia), available at: https://bit.ly/2JCSRpD.
[5] Julian Tangermann and Paula Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik, ‘Unaccompanied Minors in Germany – Challenges and Measures after the Clarification of Residence Status’, Study by the German National Contact Point for the European Migration Network (EMN). Working Paper 80 of the Research Centre of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, March 2018, available in English at: https://bit.ly/3KcEEe6, 47.
[6] Federal Association for Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (BumF) and Refugee Council Thuringia, Das Asylverfahren bei unbegleiteten minderjährigen Flüchtlingen. Eine Arbeitshilfe für Jugendämter, Vormund*innen und Betreuer*innen, November 2019, available in German at: https://bit.ly/3z4tZO9, 14.
[7] Federal Working Group oft he Land Youth Welfare Offices, Handlungsempfehlungen zum Umgang mit unbegleiteten Minderjährigen. Verteilungsverfahren, Maßnahmen der Jugendhilfe und Clearingverfahren, 3rd edition, 2020, available in German at: https://bit.ly/3FO4FQd, 30.
[8] Federal Association for Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (BumF) and Refugee Council Thuringia, Das Asylverfahren bei unbegleiteten minderjährigen Flüchtlingen. Eine Arbeitshilfe für Jugendämter, Vormund*innen und Betreuer*innen, November 2019, available in German at: https://bit.ly/3z4tZO9, 18-20.
[9] See BumF, ‘Online-Umfrage 2020 zur Situation junger Geflüchteter: Auswertung und Ergebnisse’, April 2021, available in German at: https://bit.ly/3A1BxB0, 49.
[10] Federal Association for Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (BumF), Es ist 5 nach 12: Rechtsverletzungen bei unbegleiteten geflüchteten Kindern und Jugendlichen, 21 November 2023, available in German at: https://bit.ly/3UiVX4x.
[11] Uta Rieger und Nerea González Méndez de Vigo, Kindgerechte Ausgestaltung des Asylverfahrens – Eine Bestandsaufnahme, in: Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk e.V. (ed.): Sammelband Kindgerechte Justiz, available at: https://bit.ly/2DmvbTE, 62-64, BumF, ‘Online-Umfrage 2020 zur Situation junger Geflüchteter: Auswertung und Ergebnisse’, April 2021, available in German at: https://bit.ly/3A1BxB0, 50.
[12] Julian Tangermann and Paula Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik, ‘Unaccompanied Minors in Germany – Challenges and Measures after the Clarification of Residence Status’, Study by the German National Contact Point for the European Migration Network (EMN). Working Paper 80 of the Research Centre of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, March 2018, available in English at: https://bit.ly/3KcEEe6, 46.
[13] Federal Government, Bericht der Bundesregierung zu dem Gesetz zur Verbesserung der Unterbringung, Versorgung und Betreuung ausländischer Kinder und Jugendlicher gem. § 42e SGB VIII – Die Situation unbegleiteter Minderjähriger in Deutschland, 2020, available in German at: https://bit.ly/3z24XiC, 71.
[14] Stephan Hocks, ‘Die Vertretung unbegleiteter minderjähriger Flüchtlinge’, Asylmagazin 11/2015, available in German at: https://bit.ly/41vmygl, 367-373.