Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF)

The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees is a higher federal authority within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (BMI). Its headquarters are in Nuremberg, where its central administration and specialist departments are located. Many of these support operational activities – the asylum procedure and integration work in the branch offices. The asylum, integration and migration task areas constitute the authority’s core elements. In order for each division to perform its tasks well, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has decentralised locations all over Germany that function as either primary branch offices, branch offices within arrival, decision-making and return (AnkER) facilities or arrival centres. These locations are where asylum procedures are implemented. Some decentralised locations, known as regional offices, are responsible for the integration work on the ground. This enables close cooperation in both areas with the Länder and also with non-state players in refugee protection and integration work.