Introduction

By the end of 2006, Germany had a resident population of 7.3 million people with foreign citizenship and a total 15.1 million of ‘migration background’. This latter figure represents almost one-fifth of the country's population (StBa 2008). Over the last decades, both the volumes and the geographical origins of migration flows have rapidly changed, and so too have political actions taken towards regulating immigration as well as the public's subsequent awareness of it. A net inflow of 788,000 in 1992 made Germany the second largest immigration country in the world that year (Angenendt 1999: 166). This historic record also led to a re-evaluation of migration regulation and to greater civic consciousness of the state's efforts to regain control on migration flows into the self-proclaimed ‘non-immigration country’ that was Germany. However, the state soon began to face the first effects of demographic ageing – made especially visible in the form of highly skilled labour shortages – and it became more and more aware of integration problems that the former so-called ‘guest workers’ and their offspring were experiencing. As such, the public and political debate on migration and integration shifted: rather than just controlling migration, discourse began to emphasise the aspect of shaping migration. One of the results of this debate was a clear statement by the state that it would promote better integration opportunities for foreigners in German society. Nevertheless, the subsequent policies on immigration and their surrounding discourse are still dominated by the issue of control. This is also clearly expressed by the title of the new Immigration Act 2004: Law for the Control and Limitation of Immigration and for the Residence and Integration Regulation of EU Citizens and Foreigners (my emphasis). Germany's Immigration Act 2004 as well as various pertinent EU-level policies form the legal basis of the country's activities in the field of migration control.

This report describes the present regulation of immigration into Germany, following the leitmotif of control. It will elaborate on central immigration paths into the country, corresponding regulations, external control and defence measures, as well as the system of internal controls that reaches out to the major aspects of daily life, such as work, accommodation, education and health.