Residence requirement in Brandenburg | Live where the country wants it

The residency requirement is intended to promote integration - but is criticized for having exactly the opposite effect. Photo: dpa/ Patrick Pleul For Brandenburg's Interior Minister René Wilke (SPD), refugees seem to resemble figures on a game board. They are set where the country deems it appropriate: in individual cases, the immigration authorities can bind recognized refugees to an assigned place of residence for three years.

The new instructions on residency requirements have been in effect since November 10th. The Brandenburg Refugee Council criticizes: By tightening the residency requirements, the state is slowing down integration. »Until now, the residency requirement stated that recognized refugees had to stay in Brandenburg for three years. Unless you find work somewhere else, then you can apply to move. What is now changing is that the residency requirement can be limited to the district or even the municipality," explains Kirstin Neumann from the Brandenburg Refugee Council in an interview with "nd". Current practice has already slowed down integration.

The Refugee Council gives an example: “A father from Oberhavel finds well-paid work in Rhineland-Palatinate with which he can secure the livelihood of his entire family. While he is already looking for an apartment and wants to organize daycare for his children, his wife and children are waiting for approval for their move. However, without re-registration, it is not possible for the wife to register for daycare, and the wife cannot start working without moving - and the immigration authorities take a month to make the decision. A regulation that aims to promote integration becomes an obstacle to taking up work, a regular family life and an independent life.

The German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) came to a similar conclusion in 2024: The nationwide residency regulation does not promote integration, and it even tends to have a negative effect on the housing and labor market, although not statistically significant. Although fewer refugees are moving to busy places, everyone is being denied a move across the board.

According to Neumann, we know of several such cases from the consultations, such as that of the father of the family from Oberhavel. “When it comes to finding work or housing, sometimes you have to be quick.” Those affected can apply to have the requirement lifted - but they have to give good reasons for this. Neumann says a job in another city could probably be taken into account. Living space alone may not be enough. “But we know that people who live in apartments often only have the capacity to take care of everything else, such as work, language courses or educational opportunities.”

According to Neumann, instead of “management and control” by the state government, what is needed is the opportunity to decide for yourself. This promotes the psychological principle of self-efficacy.

Neumann also contradicts the group formation argument: “Even if refugees move to the places in their communities, that doesn’t mean that they just live in a bubble. Instead, they can use the experiences from the community to learn for their own path. The argument about overburdened municipalities doesn't work either, after all, due to the tightening of migration laws in recent years, not so many people are arriving in Brandenburg. "The real problem is underfunding, for which refugees are now being made to pay attention."

Violent incidents at a school were the reason for tightening the residency requirement. Parents from the Regine Hildebrandt Elementary School in Cottbus called for help with an incendiary letter at the end of 2025. In the reporting, the violence was linked to the question of origin. According to media reports, Interior Minister Wilke diagnosed “concentration effects” in Cottbus and other cities at the beginning of 2026.

This perception is also the reason why the residency requirement has been “concreted,” the Interior Ministry said when asked by “nd”. “Without targeted control,” “socio-spatial concentrations would arise that are associated with increased integration risks.” These included “the emergence of segregated residential areas, limited use of the German language in everyday life and increased poverty risks.”

The control counteracts these effects and promotes local integration. At the same time, it would ensure that municipalities are not overloaded. With this regulation, you and the sponsors “received a reliable basis for your personnel, infrastructure and budget planning,” said a spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior. “This makes it easier for you to provide integration offers as needed and to plan for the long term.”

According to Kirstin Neumann from the Brandenburg Refugee Council, the residency requirement, however, serves the narrative of the “criminal foreigner”. The incidents are only an opportunity to better manage and control migrants. "According to the motto: We have to be careful that there aren't too many in one place, otherwise they become particularly dangerous."

For violent incidents like those in Cottbus, social work is needed instead. “We need people who are interested in why young people react violently,” says Neumann. Perhaps painful escape stories played a role. Maybe it leaves a mark when you, as a young refugee, move from collective accommodation to collective accommodation.

For Kirstin Neumann, what is needed above all is good social policy: “If there is affordable housing, work and mobility for everyone everywhere, everyone will ultimately benefit from it. Social infrastructure is really important.«

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