La nouvelle loi allemande sur le séjour des étrangers : changements et continuité

Abstract

The new German law on foreigners' residency: change and continuity Béate COLLET This article about the new German law on foreigners which came in force on 1-1-91, emphasizes the changes made to the 1965 law and the differences between the situations of foreigners in France and Germany. Two changes of attitude are to be noted: the introduction of a right of residence and of an « earlier » naturalisation. This naturalisation which is limited to young foreigners and foreigners who have been living in Germany for a long time, finally gets away from the principles of racial (völkisch) tendancies, which privileges the belonging to the socio-cultural German Community. On the other hand, despite the right of residence, the new law continues with the idea of progressive levels of residency and introduces certain dispositions which allow the verification of the social, economic and political integration of the foreigners. European integration and the settling of foreigners have forced the German Federal Republic to adopt a policy similar to that of other European countries, but she still puts forward a German solution which maintains the main points of the old principles.