Court: deportation allowed as residence permit lapsed in July
The Administrative Court in Mainz has rejected an urgent application by a 38-year-old woman from Somalia who was living in Mainz. The ruling, announced on Wednesday, means the authorities may now deport her.
The court gave two reasons. First, her residence permit ran out in July and she did not apply to extend it. The judges did not accept her urgent court application as a request for an extension. Second, there is no ban on deportations to Somalia, and the court found she had not shown that she faces the death penalty or torture there. Her statements were too general and she offered no evidence.
The woman had already lost her refugee status. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) withdrew it earlier this year after she travelled to Somalia several times and showed the trips in videos on TikTok. In September a court fined her 5,400 euros for incitement after she called for violence against members of a rival clan in her online videos. A first attempt to deport her failed in June, when the court found that the exit deadline in the city's order was contradictory.
The case shows two rules that apply to many people with protection status in Germany. Travelling to the country you fled can lead the BAMF to withdraw your protection, because it suggests you no longer fear persecution there. And a residence permit does not renew itself: if you let it expire without applying, you can become obliged to leave, and a court case does not count as an application.
What to do: check the expiry date on your residence card now and apply to your local immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) for an extension before it runs out. An application made in time usually keeps your current rights in place until a decision is made. If you plan to visit your home country, get advice from a migration counselling service or a lawyer before you travel.