Very urgent , letter from BAMF,

Question

Dear Team,
I’m writing on behalf of a friend who has been living in Germany for six years under subsidiary protection. Today, she received a letter from BAMF informing her that her case is under review as part of the Widerrufs- / Rücknahmeverfahren (Revocation or Withdrawal Procedure).
However, the letter does not include a date or time for an interview, which has left her confused and concerned.
We would appreciate clarification on the following points:

1. Why would BAMF initiate a review after 6 years?
She has not committed any crimes.
She has never returned to her home country.
She has passed her B1 language exam, she has permanent job and has started her own business in Germany.
She has a family, including two children—one of whom was born in Germany last year. They are all attending schools
2. What could trigger this kind of review, and what should she expect during the process?
3. What are the chances of her protection status being revoked or maintained under such circumstances? Is there some chance to stay in Germany? Can she apply permanent residence now or other residence permanent like 25b because she has all requirements.
4. Is it necessary or recommended for her to consult with a lawyer immediately?
Any guidance you can provide would be greatly appreciated, as this situation is causing a great deal of stress and uncertainty.
Thank you in advance for your support.
Kind regards,

Answer 1

Dear @Malcolm

Based on your account of your friend’s situation, I can only think of the following possible grounds for the review of her subsidiary protection:

• If she applied for or renewed her passport from her home country.
• She was a minor under 18 years of age when she received the protection.
• She received the protection status by making false claims or using falsified documents.
• The conditions in her home country that led her to receiving subsidiary protection have changed. The change must be significant and not just of a temporary nature. It is BAMF’s obligation, rather than your friend’s, to prove that such a substantial and lasting change has taken place.

As part of the procedure, she must be informed both that a review of her protection is underway and also the reasons for this. This is in accordance with an EU directive on granting and withdrawing international protection. It is in article 45, section 1, part (a) of this directive:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32013L0032

During the process she may be required to provide a statement in writing or at an interview in person. She must be informed in writing about any obligations on her part to do so. Her cooperation in this procedure is only required if the cooperation is both necessary for the review and reasonable for her to do so.

An interview is generally required if she received her status as part of a written asylum procedure which was used in particular for asylum seekers from Syria and Iraq in the years 2015 and 2016. If she had an in-person interview ‘Anhörung’ as part of her asylum application, then if she is requested to go to a review interview, she can request BAMF in writing as to whether this is necessary.

I cannot assess the chances of her status being revoked or maintained as I do not know enough about her situation.

She can apply for permanent residency now. Generally a person needs to have been working for 5 years to be entitled to this. If she was not working for some of the last 5 years because she was looking after her children, then this is taken into account.

She cannot apply for 25b as it only applies for people with the document ‘Duldung’.

I recommend she applies for permanent residency and checks the letter from BAMF again to make sure that a specific reason for the review was not mentioned. It is open to her to seek legal advice or support from a migrant advice service to establish the grounds for the review. But based on your description of the situation, she has as of yet only been informed of the review process and isn’t under any obligation do to anything.

Best,

Éanna

Comments

Additional Information Regarding Her Case:
1. She has been living in Germany for over 6  years with protection ( granted early 2020).
2. Her passport was applied for at the request of the Ausländerbehörde to renew her residence permit. She received the passport by courier from her home country without traveling there (as it was a renewal, this was possible).
3. She has been employed for several years and currently holds a permanent work contract.
4. She was 24 years old when she received the protection.
5. Her home country is still classified by Germany as unsafe.
6. In the letter she received, there was no reasons why the revocation or withdrawal process was initiated, nor  specific interview date was mentioned However, she later called the office directly and was informed over the phone that she has an appointment at the migration office within the next three months. This phone call took place in November 2025
Question:
Is there any faster type of residence permit she can apply for in parallel with the permanent residence? Since the permanent residence process takes a long time, she is wondering if there is a quicker alternative.
Please advise.

During appointment, can I request to respond everything in writing?