Germany and Kenya on Friday signed a migration deal during a visit by Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto to Berlin amid growing efforts there to curb the number of unauthorized entries to the country.
The agreement is intended to promote the recruitment of skilled labour from Kenya and facilitate the repatriation of Kenyans without the right to stay in Germany back to the East African country.
It was signed by German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi.
Such agreements are a key component of the German coalition government’s migration policy, which aims to better manage immigration amid pressure from its mainstream conservative rivals and from newer insurgent parties.
On Monday, Faeser ordered temporary controls at all German land borders to stem the flow of people entering the country without visas. The additional checks are to begin on Monday and will initially last for six months.
The German government has signed similar agreements with India, Georgia and Morocco, and has agreed on closer cooperation on migration management with Colombia.
Another agreement is to be signed with Uzbekistan on Sunday during Chancellor Scholz’s trip to Central Asia and with Kyrgyzstan next year at the latest. Talks with Moldova are also well advanced and more are under way with the Philippines and Ghana.
All agreements have two central components: Promoting the influx of skilled labour and cooperation in the return of asylum seekers obliged to leave the country. In the case of Kenya, the skilled workers are mainly in the care and catering sectors.
In total, there are 225,000 migrants in Germany who are required to leave the country, of whom Kenyans and Uzbeks only make up 0.45%.
According to Germany’s Office for Migration and Refugees, the number of Kenyans required to leave was 818 at the end of July. However, 738 of the people had their deportation temporarily suspended. Just under 15,000 Kenyans are registered in Germany.
In the case of Uzbekistan, the number of deportees is even lower at 203, 136 of whom also had their deportation suspended.
A majority of Germans are in favour of stricter border rules, according to a new survey by the opinion research institute YouGov.
Among those surveyed, 71% were in favour of direct rejections at the border for foreigners requiring visas who fail to apply for asylum, as well as for individuals banned from entering Germany.
Another 45% of respondents fully support border controls and potential closures as a means to manage migration, with an additional 28% expressing general support. However, 20% reject these measures.
Migration issues heavily influenced the European parliamentary elections in June and played a major part in the victory of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD)in recent state elections in eastern Germany.
