Armine

Armine came to Germany in 2003 and applied for asylum the day after he arrived in Horst, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. He was then taken to Ludwigslust in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

“In Ludwigslust I applied for a work permit for 1 year, which I only got in 2006, the year I also received the rejection of my asylum application.

I looked for a lawyer in Schwerin, to whom I paid 50 euros per month, because I was told that he could make sure I got my work permit and could then go to work. I paid the lawyer until 2009 without getting the work permit or residence. I only had the toleration they gave me. The lawyer had to go to the social welfare office to apply for a work permit and he did. But every time I found a job, they told me it was a German job. The pressure from the Foreigners’ Registration Office made me lose sleep.

I became very ill and at some point I had no more strength to continue. I have been living without papers since 2016.”