Pilot project: Aliens authorities as welcoming authorities

Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig: "The City of Chemnitz is part of the nationwide project 'Foreigners Authorities are Welcome Authorities' - that is a challenging task. But we want to set an example: Our aim is to create an atmosphere in which everyone who arrives in Chemnitz feels welcome and cared for. We are delighted when the university and its students become more international. And our companies also have a great interest in attracting qualified specialists from abroad."

Mayor Miko Runkel, whose Department of Law, Security and Order includes the Foreigners' Registration Office of the City of Chemnitz: "The offices see themselves - as of course do other authorities of the city administration - as important partners when it comes to warmly welcoming foreigners to our city. The selection of Chemnitz as one of ten model locations nationwide for the pilot project 'Immigration authorities are welcoming authorities' is also an important incentive for us to do even more justice to the idea of a welcoming culture."

"In addition to the offices involved in the first phase of the pilot project, the aim is also to develop standards for the entire administration. All citizens should benefit from this," says Cornelia Utech, Acting Head of the Social Welfare Office, who is in charge of the pilot project.

The first step is to assess the current situation in the administration, followed by targeted personnel and organisational development and the networking of various stakeholders. At the same time, various materials and forms are being reviewed, revised and, where necessary, simplified. Step by step, the information will be made available in different languages.

The aim of the pilot project "Immigration authorities are welcoming authorities" - developed from recommendations and practical examples from the round table "Aufnahmegesellschaft" round table - is to simply make administrative processes at local authority immigration offices more customer-friendly for foreigners. This also includes sensitising the employees of the authorities to the situation of migrants in further training courses. The pilot project aims to accompany and support foreigners authorities on their way to becoming "welcoming authorities". The focus here is on three core areas in particular: the aim is to review and develop internal administrative processes and workflows in terms of service and customer orientation, to strengthen the intercultural skills of employees and to further network and collaborate with key local stakeholders on the topic of "welcoming culture" and to involve stakeholders in the process.

In addition to Chemnitz, the foreigners authorities in Bietigheim-Bissingen (Baden-Württemberg), Deggendorf (Bavaria), Potsdam, Essen, Mainz, Magdeburg, Weimar and the Wetterau district are also participating in the "Foreigners authorities are welcoming authorities" pilot project. The Federal Office is being supported by the company "Ramboll Management Consulting GmbH" in cooperation with "imap GmbH - Institut für interkulturelle Management- und Politikberatung".

Also on the topic: In mid-2012, the City of Chemnitz set up a working group on migration, welcoming culture and securing skilled labour under the leadership of the Lord Mayor, and the City of Chemnitz joined the Saxon skilled labour project for foreigners. This created the framework for a simplified procedure for issuing residence permits for foreign skilled workers and scientists in Chemnitz in future. Chemnitz joined the Saxon project AKZESS on 1 July 2012. In addition to the Saxon Ministry of the Interior and the local immigration authorities, the employment agency, the central job centre and the chambers of industry and commerce are also involved. Chemnitz is another Saxon city involved in the project, which as a regional centre is of great importance for the economy and employment.

Akzess is the abbreviation for Ausländische Fachkräfte-Zuwanderung effizient und sensibel steuern (Managing the immigration of foreign skilled workers efficiently and sensitively) and includes a standardised administrative procedure with which foreign skilled workers from non-EU countries can gain faster access to the Saxon labour market. In the accession agreement, all signatories have agreed on common standards. For example, a decision on residence should be made within four weeks. An appointment system and direct and digitally supported communication should achieve a higher quality of counselling and, above all, speed up the procedure for a residence permit with work authorisation. The new procedure will apply to employed persons, the self-employed, university graduates and doctoral students, including family members. Since 1 July 2012, Chemnitz has had an office set up for this task, which is based in the Bürgerhaus Am Wall.

In recent years, the topic of welcoming culture has also been a central concern of expert discussions in the town hall under the leadership of the Mayor of Chemnitz. Various institutions such as Chemnitz University of Technology, the Federal Employment Agency, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Chamber of Crafts, the Industrial Association, the Ministry of the Interior and the Saxon Commissioner for Foreigners, the Foreigners' Advisory Council and the Commissioner for Foreigners of the City of Chemnitz as well as the Jewish community are involved.