How might integration succeed? Asylum seekers about their life situations and participation perspectives in Germany
Study | November 2017
In Germany, there is still a lack of reliable knowledge about the life situations of refugees, especially the type of knowledge that considers the views of refugees. However, such a perspective is important in order to improve the asylum system and tailor integration and participation measures. This is where this study comes in: In qualitative interviews, adult asylum seekers were interviewed who did not yet have a secure residence status in Germany. The study analyzes the refugees’ views of their place of residence, access to work and training and education opportunities, encounters and contact with the local population, as well as their subjective perception of the classification of asylum seekers according to their prospect to stay. The study also shows which topics refugees raised on their own. It issues recommendations for decision-makers from the German federal government, the federal states (Bundesländer) and local authorities, for non-governmental refugee workers as well as civil society initiatives and volunteer work, and for representatives from business. The study forms the conclusion of a research project that examined the perspectives of refugees of their life situations in Germany (Von der Aufnahme zu gesellschaftlicher Teilhabe: Die Perspektive der Flüchtlinge auf ihre Lebenslagen in Deutschland – From Arrival to Participation in Society: How Refugees View Their Lives in Germany), which was carried out jointly by the SVR Research Unit and the Robert Bosch Stiftung.
