Germany's federal government has approved a draft law that permits the use of artificial intelligence in migration and visa application processing, according to officials. The legislation is designed to accelerate handling and unify decision-making across the country's various regional offices.
Under the proposed system, AI will be deployed by the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), local foreigners’ offices, and the Federal Foreign Office. The technology will analyze application files and, when suspicious details arise, compare submitted information against publicly available internet sources.
BAMF, local foreigners’ offices, and the Federal Foreign Office will use the AI system
Final decisions on applications will remain exclusively with human officials, the draft law stipulates. The government emphasized that the primary goals are to speed up processes and reduce the administrative burden on institutions.
The scope of the regulation extends beyond new applications. Past completed visa, residence, and asylum files will also be analyzed by AI to compare regional decision-making practices. The German government stated that AI models can be trained, validated, and tested using data collected from these past processes, and that all use of AI will comply with data protection rules.
Several civil society organizations have raised concerns. Pro Asyl and Arbeiterwohlfahrt warned that AI systems could produce erroneous or biased assessments. Caritas noted that publicly available internet sources may not always be reliable. AlgorithmWatch argued that the regulation risks turning refugees into experimental subjects and lacks sufficient transparency and anti-discrimination mechanisms.
Overworked officials might accept AI suggestions without sufficient scrutiny.
Local government associations stated that additional training and technological infrastructure investments are needed in foreigners' offices for implementation. The draft law still requires approval from the Bundestag and the Bundesrat. According to German government sources, the regulation is expected to be approved in autumn.