Mareike Prinz, new head of the Munich Immigration Office – Munich

It’s a paradigm shift. The immigration law that the Bundestag passed a few days ago points in a new direction: for the first time, immigration to Germany is no longer only seen as a problem, but also as potential – the keyword being a shortage of skilled workers. It is now up to the municipalities to implement the law. That means a lot of work for Mareike Prinz. The lawyer has been the head of the Munich immigration office since January. “Yes, it’s a huge change,” says the 48-year-old. “But also an opportunity to shape this change.” Less bureaucracy, more welcoming culture, that is her wish.

Mareike Prinz, blue T-shirt, dark jacket, is sitting next to her boss Hanna Sammüller-Gradl on the top floor of the district administration department on this hot June day. She looks as if she is determined to open the door to a fresh breeze in her office. She knows it’s not an easy job, especially now when so much is changing. And when it is a matter of satisfying many actors at the same time – politics and business, your own administration and the different clientele. They range from the pregnant refugee woman from Somalia to the American IT experts at Apple or BMW to the Iranian rocket researcher at the university.

“I like to take responsibility,” says the mother of two almost grown children. She chooses clear words, wants to motivate and get everyone involved, talks a lot about communication and that many in this office are “heart and soul in the matter”.

Sammüller-Gradl hasn’t been in the KVR for long either. Exactly one year ago she was elected speaker by the city council, she is the first woman and the first Green in this office. The replacement of the immigration office was a central concern, she says. Because there was little evidence of a welcoming culture in the past. People, regardless of their origin, what level of education, had to endure humiliating procedures. Complaints increased that it was impossible to communicate with the authority either by telephone or e-mail. “You had to queue for hours to take a number – without the certainty that you would be admitted to a clerk on the same day,” says Sammüller-Gradl. Some applications have not been processed for half a year.

“There are livelihoods attached to it,” says Mareike Prinz. Without a valid residence permit, people cannot take a job, lose a student loan, and foreign scientists cannot take up their research position at the university. If you spoke to entrepreneurs or university representatives, they said in unison: We don’t understand why Germany isn’t moving in this regard. We really need people.

Something should move now. The first thing the KVR boss set up in the fall was emergency aid for those affected. In emergencies, they can now book an appointment for the same or next day via the Internet. The two women speak of a “service offensive”. And in this sense it should continue.

The Munich city council has just increased the number of staff in the immigration office: with new posts for the service hotline and party traffic. Finding qualified employees is not easy here either. On paper, Mareike Prinz has 485 positions in her office, it is the largest municipal foreigners authority in Germany (Berlin is a state authority). But only 383 positions are currently filled. “We look forward to every application,” says Prinz. Knowledge of English or other foreign languages ​​is a prerequisite, and that too has been a shortcoming so far. More interpreters are also to be employed in the future.

Behind every “residence permit” is a curriculum vitae

The Munich Immigration Office issued almost 100,000 electronic residence permits last year. Behind each one is a CV that needs to be checked. And now there are all the innovations in the administrative regulations. For example, there is the new right of residence. As soon as the federal government decided it, almost 2,000 letters were sent to all those people who might be affected. Opportunity right of residence means: People who have been tolerated in the country for at least five years can now get a residence permit, initially on a probationary basis, if they have not committed a criminal offense and are committed to the free-democratic basic order. Refugees should also be able to work with it – which employers have been demanding for a long time. According to Prinz, they have already issued 375 residence permits based on the return of their letters. That’s 375 potential workers.

Communication is important to her. She wants to listen to what those affected have to say, but also “explain the office”. So she organized information events with representatives of NGOs and lawyers, invited migration consultants and representatives of small and medium-sized businesses, went to meetings with the hotel and restaurant association. “They said to me: Do something so that we can get workers faster. We need everyone,” says Prinz. “Nearly everyone agrees on that now.”

The new Skilled Immigration Act is intended to give foreign skilled workers better access to the German labor market. A chance card is intended to enable applicants to collect points that lead to integration more quickly. There are also a number of special regulations. It means a lot of additional bureaucracy, “but also a lot of opportunities for people who come to us,” says Mareike Prinz.

“We are busy with Syrian applicants who immigrated eight years ago”

And then dual citizenship should be made possible. “We are eagerly awaiting that,” says the head of the office. “We hear from the various communities that there is a lot of interest.” Above all, many Munich residents of Turkish origin would welcome such a one-two. Prinz is convinced that this would also promote their sense of belonging to the German state. If the law comes into force this year, there will be a lot of additional work for the authorities. Unfortunately, long waiting times are unavoidable. “We are still busy with Syrian applicants who immigrated eight years ago,” says Prinz.

Mareike Prinz was the favorite among the applicants to head the immigration office, says her boss. She is not in any party, but agrees with the Greens on many issues, Prinz says of herself. And she not only has administrative experience, but also a sensitivity to the issue of migration. Born in Göttingen, she worked as a lawyer in Frankfurt for several years after completing her studies. Family reasons brought her to Munich, where she started working as a lawyer in the municipal department in 2009. She then became head of the expropriation authority and later head of the section on the principle of expropriation. From there she applied for the immigration office.

She is “in the mood for a career,” says Prinz, especially now that the children, 16 and 18, no longer need her in everyday life. Privately, she was involved with the Frankfurter Tafel, and when she came to Munich, she was involved in a refugee project and in the migration advisory service at Bellevue di Monaco. And in her new position, she will certainly benefit from the fact that she is trained as a mediator.

“You have to build bridges and talk a lot.”

“I’ve learned to put myself in other positions without taking sides,” she says. This is important in an office from which everyone expects quick solutions and in which frustration and emotions sometimes boil up. Politicians just don’t want any public excitement about the issue of migration, those affected want security, the economy needs workers. “You have to build bridges and talk a lot,” says Prinz. She speaks matter-of-factly, as befits a lawyer, seems reserved, but you can tell that she has an agenda.

It was a strenuous first six months in the new office, she admits. “But now I can classify what can be implemented quickly and what can’t,” she says and laughs. In the near future, the naming of her office will be discussed again. “Immigration authorities” may no longer be up-to-date, she thinks, as the term suggests that those affected don’t really belong. “But many of the people we deal with have lived here for a long time, even in the second or third generation. They hardly know where their parents come from.” Other cities have therefore already renamed their authorities, for example to “Office for Migration and Integration”. It can go in this direction, says Prinz. The green-red faction has already submitted an application to the city council.

In any case, one thing has already improved from the outside in the appearance of the KVR on Ruppertstraße: the long queues for the immigration office, which stretched all the way to the sidewalk, have disappeared. And even if the service staff need patience because some customers still come without an appointment or cannot distinguish between entrances A, B and C – the mood in front of the gates has improved significantly. A sign of the new spirit that has moved into the house.