Refugees and asylum

Accommodation

After registration, asylum seekers are allocated to the independent cities and districts by the initial reception centres of the Saxony State Directorate. In accordance with Section 6 (3) sentence 3 of the Saxon Refugee Reception Act (SächsFlüAG), the lower accommodation authorities (City of Chemnitz) are obliged to accept the foreigners allocated to them.

In the city of Chemnitz, asylum seekers, tolerated foreigners and other groups of people are accommodated in various forms of housing. In addition to accommodation in rented flats (decentralised housing), accommodation capacities are provided in shared accommodation (centralised housing).

In accordance with the administrative regulation of the Saxon State Ministry of the Interior on the minimum recommendations for the type, size and equipment of shared accommodation (VwV - Accommodation), shared accommodation must comply with building, health and accident prevention regulations.

In cooperation with the local security authorities, the Chemnitz police department, the social welfare office as the lower accommodation authority, the fire brigade and on the basis of the security framework concept for initial reception centres of the Free State of Saxony, a risk analysis was developed and a security concept was drawn up and continuously updated for each facility.

The security concept contains a combination of technical, structural and behavioural approaches and is intended to increase security inside and outside the shared accommodation.

Health

The asylum seekers registered by the BAMF in Chemnitz are examined by the Office for Health and Prevention on the basis of the Joint Administrative Regulation of the Saxon State Ministry of Social Affairs and the Saxon State Ministry of the Interior on the health care of asylum seekers by the Offices for Health and Prevention in the Free State of Saxony (dated 24 January 2008). An amendment came into force on 29 July 2015.

The initial examination includes in particular

• Physical examination for signs of a communicable disease
• Examination to rule out tuberculosis of the respiratory organs
• Blood test (for persons over the age of 15) to rule out infection with hepatitis A, hepatitis B,
• Stool examination on suspicion of a gastrointestinal infection caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites
  

For acute treatment of pain, health problems and vaccinations, asylum seekers can go to the International Medical Centre at Klinikum Chemnitz gGmbH.

Language support

Children and young people seeking asylum are required to attend school or vocational school. They receive language support as part of their schooling in mainstream schools. After admission, children and young people of school age are referred to the Saxon Education Agency for language assessment and placement in an integration class (VKA classes). With German as a second language and support from mentoring teachers, these so-called DaZ classes work with the pupils step by step and individually on their integration into mainstream classes. After attending the special language support programme for up to one year, they can transfer to a school near their home.

Unaccompanied children and young people are referred to the "Socio-educational support for unaccompanied minor foreigners (umA)" project run by the AGIUA e. V. association. As part of the project, they take part in a language module to prepare them for school and receive help with their initial orientation in Germany.

Depending on availability,young adults are given the opportunity to attend a language support class at a vocational school centre and are placed there.

Adult asylum seekers can apply for authorisation to attend an integration course from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. Recipients of benefits under the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act can also be obliged to attend an integration course by the social welfare office. Various organisations and initiatives in the city of Chemnitz also offer voluntary language courses. Further and job-related language courses can be funded by the Federal Employment Agency.

Employment

Asylum seekers can be placed in work opportunities in accordance with the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act. In addition to the existing agreements on work opportunities in accordance with SGB XII, additional capacity has been created for the integration of asylum seekers in community service programmes in accordance with Section 5 AsylbLG.

Leisure activities

>> Leisure activities in Chemnitz

In 2013, the city council of Chemnitz decided to participate in the "Save me - a city says yes to refugees" campaign.

The Chemnitz Save me group paved the way for this decision and has been organising regular sponsorships for newly arriving refugees since 2013. The idea behind this is that social participation for refugees is made possible in particular through interpersonal encounters. Personal sponsorships between Chemnitz citizens and refugees help to make it easier for refugees to settle into city society, to master everyday life and to overcome small hurdles in their living environment. In addition, sponsorship provides sponsors with intercultural experience and learning opportunities.

Further information and contact: www.save-me-chemnitz.de

Unaccompanied minor aliens (umA) are children or young people who enter Germany without their parents.

They currently come mainly from war and crisis zones in the Middle East. The largest proportion are children and young people from Syria, followed by Afghanistan and Iraq. Unaccompanied minors also come from Pakistan and Eritrea.

What happens when unaccompanied minors enter Germany?

Children and young people are allocated to the federal states, municipalities and districts according to a quota. If unaccompanied minor refugees arrive in Germany, they are temporarily taken into care by youth welfare offices at the place of initial reception in accordance with the Child and Youth Welfare Act (SGB VIII). This means that the responsible youth welfare office places the children and young people in a suitable youth welfare centre and carries out a so-called clearing procedure. This involves, for example, determining the age, checking whether their state of health allows them to be distributed and checking whether they have relatives in the Federal Republic of Germany or other host countries. Distribution can then take place.

If the young person remains at the initial reception centre, they are taken into the care of the youth welfare office. The young person will then be assigned a guardian who will assist them in clarifying issues relating to immigration and asylum procedures and in reunification due to family or other social ties.

If family reunification is not possible, the young people are looked after in a child and youth welfare centre until they reach the age of majority.