Berlin Hardship Commission

The Berliner Härtefallkommission (Berlin Hardship Commission) can only help you if the Berliner Landesamt für Einwanderung  (State Office for Immigration) in Berlin is responsible for your residence matter.

If you are required to leave Germany and believe that there are urgent humanitarian or personal reasons why you should be granted the right to stay in Germany, please contact a member of the Härtefallkommission (Hardship Commission) of your choice.

So that the commission member can review your case, you should submit all relevant documents and supporting evidence, for example:

• Decisions and letters from the LEA (State Office for Immigration)or from the BAMF (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees)
• Court letters, decisions, or judgments
• Letters from your lawyer
• Your correspondence with authorities regarding your residence procedure
• Evidence of your humanitarian or personal reasons (for example medical certificates)
• Further supporting documents, for example:
  • Proof of employment or income
  • Job or apprenticeship offers
  • School certificates
  • Proof of your German language skills

If a commission member is convinced that your case represents a particular hardship, they will submit your case to the office of the Härtefallkommission (Hardship Commission) at the Senatsverwaltung für Inneres und Sport (Senate Department for the Interior and Sport).

The office will check whether your application is admissible. As a rule, it will then be ensured that no measures to terminate your stay are carried out while the Härtefallkommission (Hardship Commission) is reviewing your case.

Once the member’s application has been accepted as admissible, you do not have to fear deportation. You will receive a written confirmation from the commission member who submitted your case. The Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA) will issue a Duldung (temporary suspension of deportation) for the duration of the procedure. You should always appear at the Landesamt für Einwanderung on time to have the validity of your Duldung extended. It is strongly recommended that, during the ongoing Härtefallkommission procedure, the commission member who submitted your case remains your main contact person for matters concerning your residence status. This helps ensure that all efforts to secure your right to stay are properly coordinated. Please inform the commission member who submitted your case in good time about any changes to your address or telephone number, as well as any new relevant life circumstances (such as marriage, the birth of a child, serious illness, or possibly new criminal proceedings). It is important that you can be reached. About three weeks before each session, the members are informed by the office which cases will be discussed at the upcoming session. By that time at the latest, your commission member will invite you to another meeting to clarify any unresolved issues.

The Härtefallkommission (Hardship Commission) usually meets once a month. The sessions are not public, so you cannot attend the session yourself.

The members discuss your case in detail and then vote on whether to recommend granting you the right to stay.

If at least two thirds of the members agree, a recommendation is forwarded to the Senatsverwaltung für Inneres (Senate Department for the Interior). The Senator for the Interior (Innensenatorin) will then decide on your case.

If the Senator follows the recommendation, she orders that you be granted an Aufenthaltserlaubnis (residence permit) under Section 23a of the Aufenthaltsgesetz (Residence Act). The Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA) (State Office for Immigration) issues this residence permit .

Your commission member will inform you about the decision. They will also explain which conditions you must meet, for example:

• Taking up work or starting an apprenticeship
• Securing your livelihood

With an Aufenthaltserlaubnis (residence permit) under Section 23a of the Aufenthaltsgesetz (Residence Act), you are allowed to work without restrictions.

In some cases, you may also be granted a right of residence in accordance with another legal regulation. In that case, the respective legal requirements for granting and extending the residence permit will apply. Your commission member will also inform you about this.

An application to the Härtefallkommission (Hardship Commission) may be unsuccessful. This may happen, for example, if

• the application is withdrawn before the vote,
• less than two thirds of the members agree, or
• the Senator of the Interior (Innensenatorin) does not accept the recommendation of the Härtefallkommission (Hardship Commission).

You cannot take legal action against a negative decision. This also applies to the members of the Härtefallkommission (Hardship Commission).

If the procedure is unsuccessful, you are usually still obliged to leave the country. Your commission member will inform you about this and will usually advise you to leave Germany voluntarily in order to avoid deportation.

In this situation, please contact your commission member in confidence. They can discuss with you whether there are any other or additional options available.

Please understand that other members cannot review your case again. Your submitting commission member – and, if applicable, the entire commission – has already examined your case in detail.