Actually, it seemed clear to Kate R. She had saved money to start her studies abroad in Bayreuth. Should she get into financial need, a couple of friends made an official declaration that they would step in for her financially. Requirements met, thought the 26-year-old, and focused on her master’s degree in “Intercultural Anglophone Studies”.
But then the stress of the authorities started. This was followed by letters, visits to the Bayreuth immigration office, uncertainty. The explanation does not apply, it was said. Then at the end of October R. opened another letter. Then, as she describes it, she had already mentally prepared her “escape” from Bayreuth. The office threatened her with deportation.
Cope with bureaucracy is something that all foreign students have to do. For example, for a visa and arrival in the destination country. Kate R’s argument with the authorities dragged on for months. With the astonishing turnaround that the city recently saw itself compelled to present its point of view in the local newspaper. Because Kate R. accuses the immigration office of making it anything but easy for her. The city of Freiburg im Breisgau, where it was initially registered, had long since recognized the couple’s declaration of commitment. Bayreuth, however, took a stand against it. Why?
The man friend has listed his income, but it is not high enough, the city announced. R. holds that his wife also signed it. The city does not accept that: the wife only “signed” the form. However, your income was never presented. R. contradicts: Bayreuth did not ask them to do so, and it had already happened in Freiburg.
The fact that the whole thing has now also been dealt with in the local press is probably to be seen as a defense of the authorities, which does not want to be seen as a student shock. In it and in a letter to the SZ, a spokesman emphasizes that the city examines around 1,000 residence permits for students every year. “In about 99.5 percent of the cases, there are no problems.” Only about five cases per year could not be decided positively. “Hardly ever,” writes the spokesman, if these failed because of the lack of livelihood security, rather there was a lack of academic achievements. So why the tug of war with Kate R.?
“What annoys me most is that the authorities don’t talk to each other”
Several times the immigration office did not respond to her inquiries, even when deadlines were approaching, said R. in a video conversation with her friend Stephan Kroener, with whom she lives in Bayreuth. She wrote with him to the mayor, sought help from the university, which ultimately mediated. And set up a blocked account suggested by the office. Kate R. pays in money there, proving that she can finance herself. This, the city assures, is “the absolute standard case”. R. fends off the fact that she could have done that much earlier, as the city claims. It was based on the declaration of commitment; Bayreuth has not explained to her for a long time why this does not apply. There is a lot of detail involved in this hanging game.
Stephan Kroener (left) and Kate R. met in Colombia, then R. applied for a master’s degree in Bayreuth
(Photo: private / oh)
“What annoys me most is that the authorities don’t talk to each other,” says Kate R., Bayreuth could have simply checked the validity of the declaration in Freiburg. Again, the immigration office weighs in: “The city of Bayreuth is responsible for checking whether the livelihood of a student applying for a residence permit is secure.”
With little mobility, however, the Bayreuth authority had attracted attention in another case in the past. A student from Nigeria once failed to indicate a change from a job to a degree program, and his residence permit was no longer valid. In order to renew his visa, the city administration informed him rather succinctly that he should simply leave Germany and return to Germany. Otherwise there is a risk of deportation. At a time when Corona made traveling difficult and the student risked a return to Germany. The visa extension was only possible after a long back and forth.
Kate R. also received a deportation letter. “We understood that as a threat,” says Kroener. But then, shortly before Christmas, the sigh of relief: the city accepts the blocked account and writes that R. could pick up her residence permit shortly before Christmas Eve. Your stay is safe for half a year. Then she has to disclose her finances again. Both of them are relieved and happy, says her friend, “but the welcoming culture is different”.