Asylum and Legal Stay in Germany for Nigerians

BAMF refusal, court action and enforcement

Preserve the complete BAMF decision and proof of delivery

If BAMF refuses or otherwise rejects your asylum application, keep every page of the decision, the envelope and any record showing when it was delivered. Send the complete set to a German protection lawyer immediately. The legal notice at the end, called the Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung, identifies the court and explains the remedy and filing period for that decision.

Do not rely on the date printed at the top of the letter alone. A court period normally depends on service of the decision. Do not send only the first page or a photograph of the paragraph you dislike. The lawyer needs the findings, the removal warning or order, the legal notice and the proof of notification together.

BAMF decisions can reject the substance of the claim, treat the application as inadmissible, classify it under an accelerated ground, deal with responsibility for transfer, or close the case for another reason. A positive decision granting only one form of protection can also raise a legal question. The document must be identified before anybody states the deadline or the effect of court action.

Read the decision before calculating the court deadline

Under the current section 74 of Germany’s Asylum Act, the general period for bringing a court action is two weeks after service. A one-week period applies in defined cases, including certain responsibility-transfer and European procedure decisions. The statute also provides a one-month period for stating the supporting facts and evidence, but that does not extend the shorter period for starting the court case.

These are not safe figures to apply without reading the decision. European procedure rules that apply from 12 June 2026 changed the framework, and transitional provisions may keep an earlier rule relevant to an older application or decision. The lawyer should check the application date, decision type, service record and legal notice before calculating the final day.

Ask the lawyer to write down the exact court, the last filing date, what must be filed by that date and who will file it. A request for legal aid, a counselling appointment or an email asking a lawyer to call back is not proof that the court action has been lodged.

Ask whether court action alone allows you to remain or an urgent application is required

Current section 75 of the Asylum Act says that court action does not automatically suspend enforcement unless the applicable European procedure or responsibility rule provides a right to remain. Some decisions therefore require an urgent application to the Administrative Court, commonly discussed as an Eilantrag, alongside or in addition to the main action.

Do not treat every BAMF refusal as automatically suspended and do not treat every refusal as immediately enforceable. Ask the lawyer whether the particular court action has suspensive effect, whether a separate application under section 80(5) of the Code of Administrative Court Procedure is needed, and whether the court has actually made an order.

Keep the stamped court receipt and every later court order. A lawyer’s draft or confirmation that an urgent request was sent is different from an order granting protection against enforcement. If the Ausländerbehörde requests your attendance while the court matter is pending, tell the lawyer and take the actual filing and court records.

Answer the reasons in the BAMF decision with relevant facts and evidence

The court case should address the findings BAMF made. Ask the lawyer to identify disputed facts, translation problems, missing evidence, country-information questions and legal errors. Prepare a dated explanation of any material correction and attach the record that supports it.

If the BAMF interview record mistranslated an answer, identify the question, the recorded wording and the correction you raised. If a medical condition affected the interview, obtain an appropriate medical report explaining the condition and its effect rather than a short note that merely states you attended a clinic.

Do not add a new story because the first account was refused. New evidence may be legitimate, but the lawyer must explain why it was unavailable earlier and how it relates to the protection issue. False records can damage the case and create further consequences.

A subsequent application requires new elements and is not simply another attempt

A later German protection application after withdrawal or final rejection is generally called a Folgeantrag. Current section 71 of the Asylum Act links the procedure to Articles 55 and 56 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348. BAMF examines whether the legal conditions for further consideration are met.

The applicant must identify genuinely new elements or findings that materially affect the protection assessment. Repeating the earlier account in different words is not enough. A change in Nigeria, new threats, a later event, newly available evidence or a material personal change may be relevant, but the timing, credibility and legal significance require individual assessment.

Where the person has not left Germany, the current statute generally requires personal submission at the appropriate BAMF branch office. There are defined exceptions, including certain detention or proven inability to appear, where the intended application is notified using the prescribed form. Do not post an ordinary letter to a random BAMF address and assume that a valid subsequent application has been made.

A Folgeantrag does not automatically create a fresh full procedure or stop removal. Section 71 provides circumstances in which an earlier enforceable removal measure can be used without a new deadline or warning. Obtain legal advice before submission and ask what protects the person while BAMF decides whether further examination will take place.

Separate BAMF’s decision from enforcement by the Ausländerbehörde

BAMF decides the protection claim and may include a removal warning or transfer decision. The local Ausländerbehörde handles residence status and many enforcement steps after the decision becomes enforceable. Keep letters from the two authorities in separate date order so that a lawyer can identify which office made each decision.

A removal warning, transfer decision, Duldung certificate, detention order and entry ban are different documents. A Duldung suspends deportation for the period and reason recorded, but the duty to leave remains. It does not erase the BAMF decision or grant an ordinary residence permit.

If removal appears imminent, send the lawyer the current Duldung or residence document, the BAMF decision, court filings and orders, medical evidence, family documents and every recent Ausländerbehörde notice. Ask which authority or court must receive any urgent material. Do not wait for Antarch Consulting to prepare a Nigerian certificate before dealing with an enforcement deadline.

Check whether a separate entry and residence ban was imposed

Section 11 of the Residence Act deals with entry and residence bans. The existence, territory, start and duration of a ban depend on the legal decision and the authority’s order. A new Nigerian passport does not cancel the ban, and leaving from another airport does not remove it from German or European systems.

Ask the lawyer to identify the exact order and whether an application to shorten, suspend or lift the ban is legally available. Submit that application to the authority named for the case and keep its written outcome. A visa application made while the ban remains recorded can be refused for that reason.

Check other residence options without assuming they suspend removal

German residence law contains routes connected to temporary inability to leave, integration, vocational training, qualified employment and family life. A refused asylum claim does not automatically qualify a person for any of them. A pending residence application also does not automatically suspend an enforceable removal measure.

Take your complete status history to an immigration lawyer. This includes every Aufenthaltsgestattung, Duldung, residence permit, passport request, employment permission, training contract, payslip, school record and family certificate. Ask the lawyer to identify the exact section of the Residence Act, the Ausländerbehörde that receives the application, and what legal effect the application has while it is pending.

Marriage to a German citizen or having a German child can be highly relevant, but the family relationship must be proved and the interaction between sections 5, 10 and 28 must be assessed. Do not assume that a marriage certificate cancels a removal warning or that every person may change status inside Germany without a visa procedure.

Confirm that a lawyer has accepted responsibility for the urgent step

Ask an asylum-procedure counselling service to help you understand the letter, but use a qualified German lawyer for court filing and urgent enforcement questions. If you cannot afford the case, ask the lawyer or court about the legal-aid procedure and the financial documents required.

Write down these questions for the consultation:

• Which BAMF decision are we challenging?
• When and how was the decision legally served?
• What is the last day for court action?
• Does the court action itself give a right to remain?
• Is an urgent application required, and has it been filed?
• Which facts or evidence answer BAMF’s stated reasons?
• Which office is handling any Duldung, residence application or removal step?
• When will I receive the court receipt and every order?

Antarch Consulting can organise Nigerian certificates requested for an identified residence or family application. We do not bring German court proceedings, cancel BAMF decisions, coach a protection account or promise that a certificate will stop removal.