Raising funds and residence permit

Question

Dear friends and teams,
I hope you are all well.
On behalf of my friend, I would like to ask this question:
I have friend of mine who is asylum seeker here in Germany, he is very dedicated on Christian evangelical activities especially for Sunday schools ( kids ) and teenagers. He is now volunteering in one German international evangelical organization  in Bonn and he has Also related project that he **** forward to implement. He was doing these activities during his entire life, teaching kids and teenagers about good moral life which is based on Christianity and Bible. He needs your advices:
1. How can he register his NGO? Can asylum seeker register an NGO in Germany?
2. Can you advise where can he apply for funds to support  his NGO activities ?
3. Can volunteering in that German evangelical organization  and  help him to get residence permit and quit asylum application process because his activities require him to travel and move frequently unfortunately he can do that because his asylum application is still ongoing.

Thank you, I **** forward to hearing from you soon.
Best regards,
Malcom

Answer 1

Hi @Malcolm

To answer your questions:

1.

The common form of an NGO association in Germany is called a ‘Verein’. A Verein can be registered (in German ‘eingetragener Verine’, often shortened to e.V.)  with the Amtsgericht court in the area where it is set up or can also exist as a non-registered association. As far as I can tell, there are no restrictions on asylum seeker setting up an NGO. There may be restrictions on the particular role an asylum seeker can have in the organisation which in my understanding is to do with issues such as personal liability.

If an asylum seeker is to be paid for their work with the organisation, then they require the permission of the Ausl#ändebrehörde to do so. They are not allowed to do any self-employed work (e.g. as a contractor for the NGO).

2.

There is a wide range of funding available to organisations in Germany. This can be at the local, state, federal or EU level.  I do not have any particular insight into what source of funding would be best suited but I imagine looking at the larger church organisations and foundations ‘(Stiftungen’) would be a good place to start. Here is a good general overview of funding structures and tips on applications:

https://deutsches--ehrenamt-de.translate.goog/foerdermittel/foerdertipps/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp

I used an online translation to put it in English as most of the detailed information in the area of setting up an NGO (called ‘Vereinsgründung’) is in German. But I did find this useful guide in English to setting one up:

https://***.house-of-resources.berlin/leitfaden-zur-vereinsgruendung/

There are also specialised organisations across Germany also which assist groups who wish to set up their own Verein.

3.

I do not know of any way to directly obtain a residence permit from such activities. There is the option to get a visa in Germany for volunteering. This is called ‘Bundesfreiwiligendienst’ and so if the NGO offers such a role, then he could apply for a visa to do so. This, however, would require him to leave Germany and go through the visa process; it would not be a long-term perspective to stay in Germany.

The only other possible influence I can think of that such work would have on a person’s immigration status is if the asylum case is rejected and he applies for a humanitarian residence permit from the hardship commission (Härtefallkommision). This type of permit is issued in a small number of cases where a person otherwise has no entitlement to a permit but has credible ‘hardship’ grounds to be given one. In addition to the central requirements such as having a passport and being financially secure, things like volunteering and generally benefiting the wider community have a positive influence on a person’s application. But please note this type of permit is only for exceptional cases.

Best,

Éanna