Aussiedler und Spätaussiedler (English: settlers and resettlers) refers to immigrants of German descent who returned to the Federal Republic of Germany from a state of the former Eastern Bloc to settle there. Until the end of the 1980s, most came from Poland and Romania; since 1990, mostly from the successor states of the Soviet Union.
Until 31 December 1992, such people were officially called resettlers.
Who were born as German nationals in the formerly German territories east of the Oder-Neisse line and initially remained there after 1945, as well as their descendants and spouses of other ethnic origins and national identity (according to § 4 para. 3 sentence 2 BVFG) who have resettled in Germany, Abs. 3 Satz 2 BVFG), or Those who, as ethnic Germans from a socialist-governed country, have resettled in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany or the German Democratic Republic as part of an admission procedure, as well as the relatives who accompanied them during their resettlement.
The term "late repatriate" is only used for people who immigrated to Germany on or after 1 January 1993. Those who entered Germany before 1 January 1993, and were recognized as repatriates retain their repatriate status (regardless of everyday usage). For individuals who entered Germany on or after 1 January 2005, the Federal Office of Administration, not the state authorities, issues the late repatriate certificate. Recognition as a repatriate or late repatriate is governed by the Federal Expellee Law.Diese Personen deutscher Staats- oder Volkszugehörigkeit sind in Abs. 2 Nr. 3 BVFG legal definiert als „[Vertriebene, die] nach Abschluss der allgemeinen Vertreibungsmaßnahmen vor dem 1. Juli 1990 oder danach im Wege des Aufnahmeverfahrens vor dem 1. Januar 1993 die ehemals unter fremder Verwaltung stehenden deutschen Ostgebiete, Danzig, Estland, Lettland, Litauen, die ehemalige Sowjetunion, Polen, die Tschechoslowakei, Ungarn, Rumänien, Bulgarien, Jugoslawien, Albanien oder China verlassen hat oder verlässt, es sei denn, dass er, ohne aus diesen Gebieten vertrieben und bis zum 31. März 1952 dorthin zurückgekehrt zu sein, nach dem 8. Mai 1945 einen Wohnsitz in diesen Gebieten begründet hat (Aussiedler)". The terms "repatriate" and "late repatriate" are primarily intended to encompass members of German minorities whose families have lived for generations in East-Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, as well as in Central Asia, and who have emigrated to Germany.
Legal status and recognition procedure The relevant law for examining the requirements for recognition as a late repatriate is the Federal Expellee Law (BVFG), which entered into force on 19 May 1953 and is now applied in a highly modified form following numerous reforms. The BVFG remains explicitly "not an instrument for controlling immigration […], but rather an instrument for dealing with the consequences of the war".Diese Personen deutscher Staats- oder Volkszugehörigkeit sind in Abs. 2 Nr. 3 BVFG legal definiert als „[Vertriebene, die] nach Abschluss der allgemeinen Vertreibungsmaßnahmen vor dem 1. Juli 1990 oder danach im Wege des Aufnahmeverfahrens vor dem 1. Januar 1993 die ehemals unter fremder Verwaltung stehenden deutschen Ostgebiete, Danzig, Estland, Lettland, Litauen, die ehemalige Sowjetunion, Polen, die Tschechoslowakei, Ungarn, Rumänien, Bulgarien, Jugoslawien, Albanien oder China verlassen hat oder verlässt, es sei denn, dass er, ohne aus diesen Gebieten vertrieben und bis zum 31. März 1952 dorthin zurückgekehrt zu sein, nach dem 8. Mai 1945 einen Wohnsitz in diesen Gebieten begründet hat (Aussiedler)".
Persons who enter the Federal Republic of Germany as ethnic Germans through the admission procedure initially acquire the status of a German citizen under Article 116 Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law and, after issuance of the certificate pursuant to Section 15 Paragraph 1 of the Federal Expellees Act (BVFG), then German citizenship by operation of law within the meaning of Article 116 of the Basic Law. At the same time, they also acquire the status of a late repatriate.Diese Personen deutscher Staats- oder Volkszugehörigkeit sind in Abs. 2 Nr. 3 BVFG legal definiert als „[Vertriebene, die] nach Abschluss der allgemeinen Vertreibungsmaßnahmen vor dem 1. Juli 1990 oder danach im Wege des Aufnahmeverfahrens vor dem 1. Januar 1993 die ehemals unter fremder Verwaltung stehenden deutschen Ostgebiete, Danzig, Estland, Lettland, Litauen, die ehemalige Sowjetunion, Polen, die Tschechoslowakei, Ungarn, Rumänien, Bulgarien, Jugoslawien, Albanien oder China verlassen hat oder verlässt, es sei denn, dass er, ohne aus diesen Gebieten vertrieben und bis zum 31. März 1952 dorthin zurückgekehrt zu sein, nach dem 8. Mai 1945 einen Wohnsitz in diesen Gebieten begründet hat (Aussiedler)". In addition to the late repatriate,Diese Personen deutscher Staats- oder Volkszugehörigkeit sind in Abs. 2 Nr. 3 BVFG legal definiert als „[Vertriebene, die] nach Abschluss der allgemeinen Vertreibungsmaßnahmen vor dem 1. Juli 1990 oder danach im Wege des Aufnahmeverfahrens vor dem 1. Januar 1993 die ehemals unter fremder Verwaltung stehenden deutschen Ostgebiete, Danzig, Estland, Lettland, Litauen, die ehemalige Sowjetunion, Polen, die Tschechoslowakei, Ungarn, Rumänien, Bulgarien, Jugoslawien, Albanien oder China verlassen hat oder verlässt, es sei denn, dass er, ohne aus diesen Gebieten vertrieben und bis zum 31. März 1952 dorthin zurückgekehrt zu sein, nach dem 8. Mai 1945 einen Wohnsitz in diesen Gebieten begründet hat (Aussiedler)". family members of the late repatriate can also be included in their admission notice (since 14 September 2013) (Section 7 Paragraph 2 BVFG); these include:
the spouse of the late repatriate, Descendants of the late repatriate (children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc.).
These persons are issued a so-called inclusion notice pursuant to Section 27 Paragraph 2 of the Federal Expellees Act (BVFG). The Federal Expellees Act also allows other family members of the late repatriate, who do not belong to the aforementioned group of persons, to leave the country at the same time as a person who holds a receipt or inclusion notice ( Section 8 Paragraph 2 BVFG). Legally, this is made possible by a national visa valid for 90 days without the consent of the immigration authorities, which, after admission to the federal territory, is converted into a residence permit for family reunification pursuant to Section 39 No. 1 of the Residence Ordinance (AufenthV) (Resolution of the Standing Conference of Interior Ministers and Senators of the Länder of 6/7 December 2007).Sammlung der zur Veröffentlichung freigegebenen Beschlüsse der 185. These other family members include, among others:
the spouse of a descendant of the late repatriate (son-in-law/daughter-in-law or grandson-in-law/granddaughter-in-law etc.) the minor and unmarried descendant of a spouse of the late repatriate (stepson/stepdaughter or step-grandson/step-granddaughter) the spouse or minor and unmarried descendant of the late repatriate who cannot be included in the late repatriate's acceptance notice for legal reasons
However, these individuals do not acquire German citizenship, but rather reside in the Federal Republic of Germany under immigration law.
Anyone wishing to be recognized in Germany as a late repatriate, spouse of a late repatriate, or descendant of a late repatriate must enter the country with a certificate of admission or inclusion. This certificate is issued upon proof of German ethnicity/National identity through a formal written application process.
A late repatriate is generally a person of German ethnicity who left the Republics of the former Soviet Union after 31 December 1992, through the admission procedure and took up permanent residence within six months in the area of application of the law […].
The following requirements can be identified from the :
German ethnicity The definition of German ethnicity can be found in §6 BVFG. It is divided into paragraph 1 (persons born before 31 December 1923) and paragraph 2 (persons born on or after 1 January 1924).
Paragraph 1 is based in its basic outline on a circular issued by the Reich Ministry of the Interior on 29 March 1939 (RMBliV, p. 783) and was only shortened by the introduction of the Federal Expellees Act (BVFG) by the passage "Persons of foreign blood, especially Jews, are never considered to be of German ethnicity, even if they have previously described themselves as such." The fact that part of this definition was adopted from the wording of the National Socialist regulation of 1939, has repeatedly given rise to criticism and tensions in connection with the discussion about "Germanness", for which this legal definition is often used. Nevertheless, a sharp distinction can be drawn between this and the West German concept of ancestry (), because today adopted children are treated equally to biological children.
Paragraph 2, which today applies to the far greater number of people (>99%) is split into three sections:Siehe Altersstruktur (Anteil) in .
Descent from a person of German ethnicity This refers to purely biological descent. This means that adopted children or persons who cannot prove their ancestry due to missing documents generally lack descent from a person of German ethnicity (No. 2.1 BVFG-VwV to § 6).
The person to whom one refers regarding ancestry must be of German ethnicity within the meaning of paragraph 1; according to prevailing opinion, this is certainly assumed in the case of persons who:
who were demonstrably subjected to expulsion measures against the German minority due to their German ethnicity in the period 1941–1956 (e.g. expulsion or members of a labor army), who were at least 18 years old in June 1941 and had registered themselves as having German nationality in a civil status document (e.g., in a child's birth certificate), which, based on an overall assessment, can only be attributed to German ethnicity and no other.
A commitment to German national identity According to the legal text, the "declaration of allegiance to the German people" can:
through an explicit declaration of nationality or family-based teaching of the German language or This can be demonstrated by proving particularly good command of the German language (usually language skills at level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).
Whether the aforementioned options for declaring one's faith constitute a hierarchy or are to be considered equivalent is not entirely clear and is therefore the basis of intense debate between legal scholars and public administration. A clarifying ruling from the Federal Administrative Court is still pending.
Language skills Proficiency in the German language is a part of the requirements. The applicant for resettlement as a late repatriate is invited by the responsible administrative authority to the German diplomatic mission abroad and tested there. The extent to which language tests from other organizations are also sufficient to demonstrate language proficiency is not clearly regulated. However, various language tests corresponding to level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages are recognized, as the legislator has explicitly mentioned this language level in Section 6 Paragraph 2 of the Federal Expellees Act (BVFG).
Spouses and adult descendants of the ethnic German resettler who are to be included in their acceptance notice must also demonstrate basic knowledge of the German language. According to the administrative regulation, this corresponds to level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Cut-off date rule, residence criterion and entry via the admission procedure A late repatriate is someone who […]
since 8 May 1945 or following his expulsion or the expulsion of a parent since 31 March 1952 or