The Bundesrat, the upper house of Germany's parliament, on Friday approved a long list of suggested changes to planned new legislation proposed by the federal government to reform the current laws governing the right to residency in Germany.

Among other things, the Bundesrat would like to see young refugees who have fulfilled certain criteria for integration being given residency and working permits even if their asylum applications have been rejected. It also envisages "integration courses" for asylum applicants and refugees without any residency status to enable them to find work more easily.

The Bundesrat, which represents the 16 German federal states, also wants to see a clause removed that would require spouses of people from outside the European Union who have been granted residency in Germany to prove their proficiency in the German language before being allowed to join their husband or wife.

The legislative body also called for young refugees to be allowed to work even if they did not state where they came from, saying they were often imitating their parents. Not giving them permission to work would send the "wrong signal to a young generation of refugees," it said in a statement.

Security from deportation

Earlier, the premiers of the states of Hesse, Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate wrote to Chancellor Angela Merkel with proposals for better working conditions for young refugees in Germany.

In their letter, quoted in the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, the three leaders urged the government to give young refugees a secure right to remain in Germany at least for the duration of any training they should undergo, and to grant them a limited residency permit if they are offered a job.

Otherwise, the letter said, neither refugees nor the companies training them had any guarantee "that a period of training could actually be successfully concluded."

Wideranging changes

The federal government is planning reforms not only of right-to-residency laws, but also of those regarding deportation of rejected asylum applicants.

Among other things, refugees whose application for asylum has been rejected but are not deported for various reasons are to have a better chance of obtaining the right to reside if they have been in Germany for several years, can speak adequate German and earn their own living to a large extent.

Laws on deportation, however, are to be made more stringent, with refugees without a residency permit who have committed crimes or belong to terrorist groups being deported more quickly.

The government also wants to make it possible to detain those who are about to be deported for up to four days before it happens - a plan that has been sharply criticized by the opposition and refugee organizations.

The Bundesrat's suggestions will first be submitted to the government, which will then formulate a response. The lower house, or Bundestag, will then discuss the proposed bill.

Approval by the Bundesrat is not necessary for this bill to pass.

tj/kms (dpa, KNA, AFP)