SPD Wants a Right to Stay for Working Refugees
4 min read
The SPD group in the Bundestag is calling for a permanent right to stay for refugees who work, train or study in Germany, even if their protection status ends. The group adopted the proposal in a position paper on 10 November 2026. It is a political demand, not a law: no bill exists, and residence permits remain unchanged for now.
What the SPD right to stay would mean
The proposal targets people who hold a time-limited humanitarian residence permit, for example recognised refugees and holders of temporary protection. Tagesspiegel, citing Reuters, reports that several hundred thousand people could benefit, mainly Syrians and Ukrainians. The SPD says many of them are well integrated but cannot meet the strict conditions for a regular skilled-worker permit.
The paper does not invent a new type of permit. According to the information service Migrando, it would open sections 25a and 25b of the Residence Act (Aufenthaltsgesetz) to more people. These rules already give a secure right to stay to well-integrated people with a Duldung, a formal suspension of deportation. The SPD wants holders of humanitarian permits to be able to move into them as well, so that their right to stay no longer depends on the original reason for protection.
Who would qualify under the four groups
The paper names four groups. The first is employees who pay social insurance contributions and mostly cover their own living costs. This explicitly includes people outside classic skilled jobs, and they would be first in line. The second is trainees and students, even if they still receive some state support. The third is school pupils with a realistic chance of finishing school and integrating.
The fourth group is people who cannot fully support themselves for good reasons, such as caring for small children or relatives. These cases would be judged individually.
The paper is not an open invitation. People who make no effort, ignore the rules or commit crimes would still have to leave Germany, it says. The Kurier newspaper, which saw an earlier draft, adds that the SPD wants checkable criteria and no automatic right for everyone who has protection.
How the right to stay differs from the coalition agreement
The CDU/CSU and SPD coalition agreement already promises a right to stay for some working people, but for a much smaller circle. According to Migrando, it covers only well-integrated Geduldete who had lived in Germany without interruption for at least four years on 31 December 2024. They would also need clarified identity, enough German and mostly self-financed living through insured work for at least a year.
The SPD paper goes further because it reaches people who are not tolerated but hold a regular, time-limited protection status. It would also relax the income test for trainees and for people with care duties. The CDU/CSU has not issued a formal response to this paper so far. Berliner Zeitung notes that the Union rejected a similar SPD demand in January, and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) has already started deporting some Syrians and Afghans without a criminal record, according to Tagesspiegel.
Why Syrians and Ukrainians are in focus
Nearly 950,000 Syrian nationals live in Germany, and more than half hold a temporary humanitarian title, according to the paper as reported by Zeit. After the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) has been reviewing Syrian protection status. Berliner Zeitung writes that nearly one in four of these reviews now ends with the loss of protection. Our earlier report on Germany's Syrian migration policy gives more background.
Ukrainians are in a different position, because they hold temporary protection under section 24 of the Residence Act, which is not reviewed case by case. Kurier says the EU mechanism currently runs until March 2028; see our report on the extension to 2028. The SPD paper says about 48 percent of Syrians and just under 40 percent of Ukrainians in Germany have a job. It argues that forcing out people who are already working would worsen the labour shortage. Kurier reports that the SPD wants a legal solution before the BAMF starts larger-scale reviews.
What this means for refugees in Germany
For now, your situation is unchanged. Whatever your residence permit says, it stays valid until its end date, and any BAMF letter or deadline still applies. The paper could still be changed, delayed or blocked by the Union, so do not plan your life around it yet.
You can prepare quietly. Keep proof of work, training or school attendance, such as employment contracts, payslips, certificates and language test results. Check the expiry date of your permit early and contact the Ausländerbehörde, the local immigration office, in good time before it ends. If you receive a letter about your protection status, a free refugee counselling service or a lawyer specialising in residence law can tell you which options you already have under current rules. Migrando gives the same advice.
