Germany drafts proposals to make refugees integrate or lose right to stay

Last year, Germany accepted more than a million refugees and migrants

People pulling suitcases arrive at the Berlin refugee registration centre (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Germany is considering introducing new laws which would require refugees to integrate into society in order to stay.

Draft proposals include making refugees learn German, being employed and not stopping female relatives from being employed. If they do not comply with conditions, they could face having their settlement permit revoked after three years, Reuters reports.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said: “For those who refuse to learn German, for those who refuse to allow their relatives to integrate- for instance, women or girls- for those who reject job offers: for them, there cannot be an unlimited settlement permit after three years.”

Rather, Mr Maiziere said, the country must strive for: “a link between successful integration and the permission for how long one is allowed to stay in Germany.”

Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel agreed with the proposals, telling local media: “We must not only support integration but demand it.”

There are growing tensions in Germany about the number of refugees which the country has accepted. Last year it accepted more than a million and has taken more than 100,000 thus far this year.

Some right wing parties and media sources have argued that the high numbers are resulting in a cultural clash as some refugees and migrants do not integrate socially and culturally with local communities.

In January, tensions soared after sexual assaults took place on a mass scale in Cologne, near the city’s train station. Refugees were blamed for the attacks, but police inquiries later suggested that the attackers have largely been non-refugees.