Germany to use AI tools in asylum and visa processing
Berlin approved a draft law on 29 July to create a legal basis for AI tools to support migration officials reviewing asylum, visa and residence cases.
On July 29, the German government approved a draft law that allows the introduction of artificial intelligence in the processing of asylum, visa and residence permit applications, with the aim of shortening lengthy administrative procedures and reducing the pressure on migration services.
The new technical solutions can be used by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, local foreigners' authorities and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Data from submitted applications will be used to develop, test and verify the artificial intelligence models intended to support officials.
How the systems will function
The systems are intended to analyze previously completed cases to determine how decisions were made, with the hope that practices will be aligned across different parts of the country and that parts of the procedure that can be accelerated will be identified. The draft law also opens the possibility for automatic verification of information published on the internet: when there is a "reasonable suspicion" about an applicant's statements, the services will be able to compare the stated data with publicly available websites and profiles.
The final assessment under the draft law remains the responsibility of human officials. Artificial intelligence is defined as an auxiliary tool and does not have the authority to independently approve or reject an asylum, visa or residence application.
The proposal has drawn criticism from refugee protection organizations and digital rights groups. "Pro Asyl", "Caritas" and others warn of possible errors in publicly available data, the risk of bias in algorithms and the danger that officials may rely too heavily on automated recommendations. Within European rules, the use of AI in asylum procedures is considered high-risk due to the sensitivity of the data and the consequences that a decision may have for the applicant.
The draft law will be considered in the Bundestag and the Bundesrat during the autumn.
Photo: press material from the event
