Challenges and Controversies in Migrant Integration and Legal Status in Germany 2025
Germany’s migrant integration and legal challenges are spotlighted by the case of a deported student potentially returning and OECD data revealing employment barriers for migrants.
- • Ramzi Awat Nabi’s deportation and potential return illustrate legal and bureaucratic integration challenges in Germany.
- • The Stuttgart immigration authority shortened Nabi’s re-entry ban to three months after verifying his identity.
- • Migrants in Germany have significantly lower employment rates than natives, especially among the highly qualified.
- • Lack of recognition of foreign qualifications is a major reason for poor employment outcomes for migrants.
- • Germany remains the second largest recipient of immigrants in OECD states, mainly due to family reunification, despite declining labor migration.
Key details
In 2025, Germany continues to face significant challenges regarding the integration and legal accommodation of migrants, highlighted by the case of Ramzi Awat Nabi and key OECD migration data.
Ramzi Awat Nabi, an Iraqi student deported from Germany to the Kurdistan region in August 2025, may soon return. The Stuttgart immigration authority has shortened his re-entry ban to three months after Nabi presented a biometric ID card confirming his identity, which was previously in doubt due to unclear documents. This identity uncertainty led to his deportation despite his studies at the Esslingen University and residence with his brother Bilal in Stuttgart. Nabi’s family arrived in Germany in 2018, but only Bilal was allowed to stay. Nabi’s deportation has sparked protests and debate over the authorities’ handling of his case. Nabi must bear several thousand euros in deportation costs and has applied for a student visa that might take over a year to process (Research ID: 127979).
These individual challenges reflect wider systemic issues revealed in a new OECD report on migration in Germany. Migrants have a significantly lower employment rate than native Germans, with a 10.3 percentage point gap overall and a 15-point gap among highly qualified migrants. The primary barrier is the lack of recognition of foreign qualifications. Migrant workers earn roughly 43% less than Germans of comparable age and gender. Despite a 4% overall decrease in permanent immigration across OECD countries, Germany remains the second largest recipient with 586,000 new immigrants. The main driver for migration to Germany is family reunification, while labor migration has dropped 21%. Meanwhile, asylum applications in OECD states reached a record 3.1 million, up 13% from last year (Research ID: 127980).
These contrasting facts illustrate the multifaceted hurdles migrants face in Germany—from bureaucratic and legal obstacles hindering students like Nabi to broader economic and social hurdles impeding migrants’ labor market integration. The ongoing discussions and protests around Nabi’s case underscore the urgency of reforming administrative processes and qualification recognition to improve migrants’ prospects and integration in German society.