Racial Bureaucracy Encountered by Foreign Students from Ukraine

International student refugees – students from countries outside the EU who were studying in Ukraine at the time when the war broke out,  fled the same war as Ukrainian citizens. On arrival in Germany, however, they encountered differential treatment compared to Ukrainian refugees. Indeed, these third-country nationals have not been able to benefit from the same rights that are being given to Ukrainian asylum seekers, such as the right to temporary protection.

Germany signed the Geneva Refugee Convention in 1951. It is the second largest donor to UNHCR and is recognized as one of the countries in Europe that accepts the highest number of refugees. The German Basic Law grants asylum to those who are politically persecuted in their home country (Achackzai 2018). According to it, anyone had the right to ask for political asylum in Germany without being turned away at the border.

In the 1990s, however, the German state began to introduce restrictive asylum policies, which coincided with a shift in the migration pattern when asylum seekers from the former Yugoslavia, including Bosnian Muslims started arriving (Bosswick 2000).  In addition to these restrictive policies, refugees and asylum seekers were often segregated from the local population and had very limited rights (Pieper 2008; Wacquant 2007; Wendel 2014; Bhimji 2019).

Third-Country Nationals Fleeing the War in Ukraine

When the war broke out in Ukraine, several Ukrainian citizens as well as third-country nationals – those not possessing EU citizenship, arrived in Germany. Most of them came to study in Ukraine originally from different African (Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Egypt, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Tanzania) as well as Asian countries.

As their countries of origin are considered safe by the German State, the refugees without Ukrainian citizenship had been initially given the deadline of 31st of August to return to their ‘home’ countries. A majority of them have limited finances and are thus unable to continue their studies in either their own countries or obviously in Ukraine.

A majority of the third-country nationals (about 70’000) living in Ukraine, were studying medicine, engineering, IT, business, economics, and management. Many are male undergraduates, but some are also women, and all are at different stages of their educational pursuits.

Limited Support

Only very few networks and initiatives have recognized the ordeal of these student refugees. Among them, is the Tubman network, a small non-governmental organization consisting of different Black organizations and allies, which has been a source of support to the students arriving from war-torn Ukraine. Presently, the network supports 2000 refugees with only a limited number of volunteers. Most of the governmentally funded organizations in Germany focus on refugees with Ukrainian citizenship.

Differing Treatment Among the Refugees

Since the beginning of the crisis, third-country nationals without Ukrainian citizenship, have reported differences in treatment among the refugees in Germany. In contrast to Ukrainians, who were given residence and work permits, and access to social benefits swiftly, these third-country refugees were excluded from all these rights, including the right to temporary protection.

Furthermore, individual refugees wanting to register in Germany need to provide a form stating they will live for six months with a host in Germany. Compared to Ukrainian refugees, African and Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPoC) refugees have a much harder time finding German nationals willing to host them.

Consequently, third-country nationals have been demanding equal rights from the German government and eligibility to be considered for a residence permit. These include the right to study and work, access to social assistance, as well as the exemption of having to prove financial means of stay.

Hurdles to Continued Studies

Upon arrival in Germany, third-country national students discovered several obstacles to pursuing their education. One student of engineering reported that the university was demanding to see proof of funds to obtain a student visa to study in Germany. Others were being asked to return to their ‘home’ countries to obtain new student visas from the German state.

For many of these students, this would simply be unaffordable. In the words of one student, “the cost of obtaining a second student visa to study in Germany could be up to 5,000 Euros, which many could not afford since they had already spent this amount for their visas to study in Ukraine.”

Moreover, some of the students have not been able to access their transcripts in their Ukrainian universities and are therefore unable to continue their studies in Germany. These student refugees do not consider a return to their countries of origin possible, since they had given up everything back home to start a new life elsewhere.

Additionally, German universities do not recognize their qualifications from their countries of origin. Hence, many of the students report being forced to work in low-paid and exploitative conditions, such as in Amazon warehouses, and being offered only night shifts. Companies and corporations in Berlin are also reluctant to hire third-country nationals while preferring to hire Ukrainian citizens.

Student Demands and Demonstrations

As a result of the reports of unequal, discriminatory treatment, third-country national organizations, Berlin-based universities and individual supporters, joined forces to further support the experiences and demands of these third-country refugees.

On World Refugee Day, several third-country national organizations and groups gathered in front of the German Parliament in Berlin expressing their experiences and demands. Among them was a group of students representing the ‘Student Coalition for Equal Rights.’

In a poignant speech, the group described being traumatized by the war, having their dreams crashed and opportunities destroyed. The students spoke about their experience of racial profiling and bureaucracy and condemned the unequal treatment. The coalition concluded with a call for the “equal application of Article 24 for all refugees and support for those without documents, financial assistance as well as equal access to education and language support.”

Uncertain Future

The demand for equal treatment and rights has currently remained unmet by Germany. Instead, third-country nationals from Ukraine are now being asked to learn German, to get accepted into a university, or to find a preparatory course for studies, or a position for vocational training within six months (starting from September) to fulfill the additional requirements to obtain a residence permit in Germany. These third-country national student refugees, who fled Ukraine, remain nevertheless determined to stay in Germany and continue their higher education and careers.

Fazila Bhimji is an independent scholar based in Berlin, Germany. Her research interests include critical migration studies and theory.

Salina Momade is a Bachelor’s student at Humboldt University and a member of the Black Student Union.   

References:

–Achakzai, A.W. (2018, 23 November) ‘What’s the right to asylum as stated in the German constitution?’ Accessed 31 August 2023.
–Bhimji, F. (2019). Asylum Seekers Struggle to Recover the Everyday: The Extended “Emergency Shelter” in Tempelhofer Feld as a Site of Continuous Crisis. Sociologus, 69(2), 105-125.
–Bosswick, W. (2000). Development of Asylum Policy in Germany. Journal of Refugee Studies, 13(1), 43-60.
–Pieper, T. (2008). Die Gegenwart der Lager: Zur Mikrophysik der Herrschaft in der deutschen Flüchtlingspolitik. Münster: Westfälisches Dampfboot.
–Wacquant, I. (2007). Territorial Stigmatization in the Age of Advanced Marginality. Thesis Eleven, 91(1), 66-77.
–Wendel, K. (2014). Unterbringung von Flüchtlingen in Deutschland: Regelungen und Praxis der Bundesländer im Vergleich. Frankfurt am Main: Pro Asyl.