"In the German drive for order,
taken to the point of automatism, lies
B1/B2 Language Certificate Requirements
To obtain late resettler status, an applicant must prove German proficiency at a native-speaker level (Section 6 BVFG) — exemption from the test is possible only on medical grounds.
no less love of homeland
than in the French cry to defend
their freedom on the barricades."
Andrei Lavrukhin
Many know that Germany is a stable country, attractive in many respects. It is comfortable to live there, both temporarily and permanently, financially as well as legally and politically. For this and many other reasons, many people seek to move to and settle in this country of the European Union. One of the widely used programs offering that opportunity is the "Late Resettlers" program.
Many of our readers already know well that, under this program, persons of German ethnicity who remained living in the territory of the former Soviet Union from May 1945, or after being expelled from 31 March 1952, as well as members of their families, are entitled to apply for late resettler status, allowing them to resettle in Germany permanently. The term "resettlers" (Aussiedler) first appeared after Germany adopted the "Act on the Affairs of Displaced Persons and Refugees" (Gesetz ueber die Angelegenheiten der Vertriebenen und Fluechtlinge, or "Bundesvertriebengesetz" — BVFG) in 1953. What makes this especially attractive is that this group of people is entitled to resettle in Germany and receive decent social support from a strong European state. A great advantage of the program is that "late resettlers" do not need to go through a naturalization procedure or renounce their country-of-origin citizenship. Children of resettlers born in Germany likewise receive dual citizenship — of their country of origin and of Germany. Many ethnic Germans living in the post-Soviet space who wish to resettle in Germany face the question of how to prove their German origin, which is required to be granted late resettler status. In recent times, the Federal Office of Administration has increasingly based its refusals of would-be resettlers on a failure to prove German origin. It asserts that a B1-level language certificate and an entry recording the applicant's own German ethnicity in official documents are not sufficient evidence of German origin and genuine belonging to the German people. In a number of cases the Bundesverwaltungsamt (Federal Office of Administration) doubts the biological chain of descent from a German ancestor. Replaced or reissued documents, especially those drawn up during the post-Soviet period, draw particular suspicion from the authority, which cites the corruption widespread in the post-Soviet space. In such cases one must work with circumstantial evidence or resolve the issue through comparative genetic analysis. As a rule, the results of such expert testing are recognized by the authority responsible for admitting late resettlers. In other cases, where the documents proving German origin are entirely in order, doubt may instead center on whether the particular applicant genuinely feels a sense of belonging to the German people — that is, whether they truly identify as a person of German ethnicity.
We once encountered a situation in our practice in which confirming a particular applicant's commitment to German ethnicity required circumstantial evidence that was obtained precisely by following the advice of our firm's attorney, who specializes in resolving such matters — but let us take things in order.
A young man — let's call him Anatoly — came to us for a consultation. He was living at the time in a small town in the Altai Krai region. He approached us holding a refusal of his coveted "late resettler" status, issued by Germany's Federal Office of Administration. At first glance, Anatoly's documents seemed entirely in order — he had the original of his genuine birth certificate, which stated in black and white that both he and his father were of German ethnicity. Proving his biological connection to his paternal grandfather, who had remained living in Siberia after the Great Patriotic War, likewise presented no great difficulty. The problem arose rather unexpectedly: it turned out that the passport our future client had obtained in the 1990s no longer listed nationality at all. As a result, apart from the original birth records he had in hand, there were no other documents indicating German ethnicity. Under the administrative authority's logic, this meant the young man did not identify himself as a person of German origin and could not prove his commitment to the German people. In our practice we have repeatedly encountered various ambiguous situations requiring an unconventional approach, and such an approach was needed here as well. To challenge the negative decision in court, we needed to find, "even if it meant digging it out of the ground," a document confirming that our client fully met the criteria set by the Federal Office of Administration. This task turned out to be far from simple, but solvable nonetheless. On our attorney's advice, Anatoly contacted the school he had once attended. Although our client had long since moved to a town roughly 500 km from where he was born, grew up, and went to school, he did not hesitate to visit his home village and its one and only school. There, along with nostalgia and pleasant childhood memories, he managed to obtain a certified copy of his student file, which clearly stated that Anatoly was of German ethnicity. This copy was properly apostilled, translated, and added to the applicant's overall set of resettlement documents. This document, together with the detailed explanations our firm's attorney prepared and presented to the court, played an important role in the case. To bring the matter to a quick and mutually beneficial conclusion, in agreement with and on behalf of our client, a settlement was reached with the authorized representative of the Federal Office of Administration, accepting the documents submitted as sufficient evidence of Anatoly's German origin and his commitment to the German people. Following that decision, the attorney would go on to bring the case to a successful conclusion — namely, obtaining the coveted positive admission decision (Aufnahmebescheid).
Looking a little ahead, let us briefly describe what awaits our client next. After receiving a positive decision in his case, Anatoly will need to calmly settle his affairs in Russia and physically move to Germany, initially to the transit camp in Friedland. Our client was fully satisfied with the work we had done representing his interests and supporting the process of obtaining his coveted status, and he had already asked us in advance to accompany him during the first steps after moving to Germany as well. As the American writer Elbert Hubbard rightly observed: "One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man" — and, we might add, work well done brings its own immense and incomparable satisfaction. Naturally, we promised our client that we would accompany him through all the legal formalities in his new country, including at the resettler camp in Friedland. It is worth noting that, on the one hand, the procedure he will have to go through before his final settlement at a permanent place of residence in Germany is fairly standard. On the other hand, everyone knows the German penchant for order in everything related to paperwork, and their thoroughness when it comes to verifying the accuracy of information. Anyone moving must therefore be aware that all interviews with officials will, first, be conducted only in German. If you do not yet speak the language fluently, it is always better to bring along relatives or interpreters. Second, one must be extremely careful and attentive about exactly what one says in interviews and states on forms and applications. However strange it may seem, even after obtaining "late resettler" status, if it turns out that important information was concealed or the information provided does not match reality, you can simply be turned away and sent back home. Unfortunately, you will not get a second chance to move to Germany under this program. We are confident that our readers will, by definition, never find themselves in such an unfortunate predicament. At the same time, we would once again stress that if you have any doubts about whether your documents are correctly prepared, questions about where to request and obtain a particular document, or need comprehensive information on any matter in the field of immigration law, we invite you to a consultation at our law firm, where we will look thoroughly into your situation and help you find the best possible solution.
All rights reserved. Copying or republishing this article requires a link to the original source.
