Source description last updated: 5 December 2022

In brief: The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge, BAMF) is the German authority responsible for conducting asylum procedures and protecting refugees. Furthermore, BAMF coordinates the promotion of integration and carries out research in the area of migration.

Coverage on ecoi.net:

Country reports, briefing notes and for countries of priorities A-E.

Monthly coverage on ecoi.net.

Mission/Mandate/Objectives:

"The Federal Office is a Federal authority within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI)." (BAMF website: The authority, undated)

"As the centre of excellence for migration and integration in Germany, the Federal Office is not only responsible for processing asylum applications and ensuring refugee protection, but is also a motor for the nationwide promotion of integration. The authority's remit also includes research into migration." (BAMF website, undated)

“The Asylum and Migration Information Centre (IZAM) is the Federal Office’s central specialist information facility. The Information Centre compiles reliable, comprehensive and up-to-date information on migrants’ states of origin and transit, as well as on world refugee and migration movements and their causes.” (BAMF Website: The Asylum and Migration Information Centre, undated)

“The main tasks of IZAM are to research, process and document information (with references); to analyse and provide the information for internal and external users; to cooperate with other asylum agencies and networks (e.g. European Migration Network - EMN) on a European and international level in order to share information and to create synergies.” (BAMF Website, Informationszentrum Asyl und Migration, undated, working translation ACCORD)

Funding:

State funding (Federal Republic of Germany)

Scope of reporting:

Geographic focus: All countries.

Thematic focus: All topics relevant for integration, migration, asylum and flight

Methodology:

"Literature and media reports are evaluated on the topics of integration, as well as on the law on asylum and residence, geography and human rights, in addition to sources for migration research. The Information Centre is sub-divided into a library, documentation areas and the country analysis. A team of librarians, documentalists, lawyers, political scientists and other research assistants collects and processes the information.” (BAMF Website: The Asylum and Migration Information Centre, undated)

“MILo (Migrations-InfoLogistik) is the country-specific information system of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. This is where you will find specific information describing the situation in migrants' countries of origin, as well as in other host states and destination states, along with general information on the individual nations.” (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees Website, The MILo database, undated)

Country reports are “drafted according to the EASO COI Report Methodology (2012), the Common EU Guidelines for processing Country of Origin Information (2008) as well as the quality standards of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (2013) and on the basis of carefully selected and reliable information.” In case, “information is obtained within the context of so-called fact-finding missions in the countries of origin” this is done “considering the common EU guidelines for (common) fact-finding missions (2010).” Information that is provided is “researched, assessed and edited with great care. All sources are named and quoted following scientific standards.” The report “does not claim to be complete. In case a particular event, a particular person or organisation is not named, it cannot be taken to mean that such an event did not take place or the person or organisation in question does not exist. The report/the information does not allow for any final conclusion on whether an individual application for asylum, refugee protection or subsidiary protection is justified.” The terminology used should “not be taken to suggest a particular legal opinion. The assessment of the application to grant protection has to be conducted by the staff member assigned to the case. The publication does not represent a political statement of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.” (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge, Länderreport 21; Russische Föderation; LGBTI in Tschetschenien, November 2019, Disclaimer, working translation ACCORD)

Languages of publications:

German. Some publications also in English.

Further reading / links:

Website of IZAM, undated
https://www.bamf.de/EN/Behoerde/Informationszentrum/informationszentrum-node.html

BAMF: Information Centre for Asylum and Migration, August 2019
https://www.bamf.de/SharedDocs/Anlagen/EN/Behoerde/Informationszentrum/flyer-informationszentrum-asyl-und-migration.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=4

MILo, undated
https://milo.bamf.de/milop/cs.exe?func=llworkspace

BAMF: Das deutsche Asylverfahren - ausführlich erklärt, November 2014
https://www.sachsen.de/assets/Das_deutsche_Asylverfahren_ausfuehrlich_erklaert_Broschuere_BAMF(1).pdf

BAMF, Den Menschen im Blick - Sicherheit geben. Chancen ermöglichen. Wandel leben, January 2019
https://www.bamf.de/SharedDocs/Anlagen/DE/Behoerde/broschuere-leitbild.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=8

BAMF: Overview of the stages of the asylum procedure, undated
https://www.bamf.de/EN/Themen/AsylFluechtlingsschutz/AblaufAsylverfahrens/ablaufasylverfahrens-node.html

All links accessed 5 December 2022.