Am I free to go to any country after withdrawing my asylum application in Germany?

Question

Hi, I have been waiting so long to get my asylum case approved in Germany but received no update and not even a response when asked about the status of my application.

I wanted to ask what will happen when I withdraw my application. Will I be deported to my home country (in my case Afghanistan- which is not safe and that is the reason I applied for asylum) or will I be free to leave Germany for any other country after I get back my passport from BAMF? In the second case, can I apply for asylum in another country, because I have voluntarily WITHDRAWN my application and have not been rejected?

How long will I have time to leave the country?

I appreciate any advice you can provide.

Best regards,

Wolfgang

Answer 1

Dear @Lindneregng,

Welcome to the Wefugees Community and thank you for reaching out to us.

First of all, I am sorry to hear about your struggles and that you already wait so long for the results of your asylum application.

However, in Europe there is a policy applied called "Dublin III Regulation" - it determines in which European country your asylum procedure must be processed. Unfortunately, asylum seekers can not "choose" the country freely.

I highly recommend you not to withdraw your case, especially without having discussed this with a lawyer. For the time being, you may also contact a refugee counselling office for support (the so-called "Asylverfahrensberatung"/asylum procedure counselling) would be the most specialised service. Together you can apply for taking insight to your BAMF-files to understand at what stage your case currently is.

I hope this helps and please don't hesitate to get back to us with any further questions.

All the best,

Meike