Under Scrutiny
October 23, 2006
According to media reports which surfaced over the weekend, the German coalition government is planning to tighten its immigration laws in the wake of failed terrorist attacks on two German trains in July.
"The talks have been very constructive and are already very advanced," a government spokesperson said on Sunday without going into details.
German weekly Der Spiegel said in a report that persons who stand as guarantors for students in their visa applications would be checked out in future in addition to the students themselves and their sponsors.
The duration of residence permits would be cut by half to at least one year and the students would have to report regularly to local government offices, the magazine said in a report released in advance of publication Monday.
Family members to be scrutinized as well
The conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its coalition partner Social Democratic Party (SPD) are expected to draw a draft bill over the next few weeks that would, in addition to tightening entry regulations for foreign students, also implement EU directives on asylum and right of residence.
Member of the German parliament and spokesperson on domestic issues for the SPD Dieter Wiefelspütz said that regulations governing visits and immigration of family members will also need to be tightened.
"If we have reason to believe that there are security issues, we'll have to inspect things in this area as well," Wiefelspütz said.
While supporting the need for preventing potential terrorists from entering the country, members of the opposition Green party warned about the possibility of "irrational answers" to the failed bomb attacks.
"It must remain clear that Germany wants young students from abroad," said Volker Beck, who leads the Green party group in the German parliament. "That is decisive for our export and for Germany as an academic center."
A technical glitch
The new regulations follow the recent disclosure of two students in Germany suspected of planning failed bomb attacks on German trains. A 21-year-old Lebanese man studying in Germany is among three people in detention for planting suitcase bombs that failed to go off in Dortmund and Koblenz on July 31.
Der Spiegel said that two men who acted as references for the Lebanese student were not scrutinized by officials although they were known to police. In addition to the man held in German custody, two people were detained in Lebanon in connection with the suitcase bombs.
Another Lebanese student taken into custody in Germany was released last month after a court ruled there was insufficient evidence to link him to the thwarted attacks.
The suitcase bombs failed to explode because of a faulty mechanism and were only discovered later by unsuspecting train guards.