Getting an appointment at the Foreigners' office in Essen, Germany is almost impossible and takes a long time. The Foreigners’ Office is the first German department to go to for those who have been admitted asylum, in order to receive a monthly aid stipend or to look for work or housing, for example.

The appointment schedule is often arranged by the Foreigners’ Office, with a webpage for a branch in each city. Muhannad (not his real name), a volunteer who helps refugees, says this possibility of booking appointments online has not been available in Essen for a long time.

Perhaps the large number of appointments compared with the few available makes sense. Essen, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, is close to Dortmund, which has the country’s largest refugee center. There are currently 20,000 refugees living in Essen, a large proportion of compared to other large German cities.

Appointment dates paid for via smartphone

It seems that this is not entirely the case. According to a survey conducted by two journalists from the German media outlet WDR, it was found that an appointment with the Essen Foreigners Office was possible and could be done "very fast" but only through the means of the so-called "black market." "There is someone who arranges appointments with the foreigners' department in Essen for money," Lina (not her real name), who was involved in the investigation, told InfoMigrants.

Through the mobile communications platform Whatsapp, refugees can communicate with the person who "sells appointments" and the number of the appointment is traded publicly, especially among the Arabic-speaking refugees.    

In a written statement obtained by InfoMigrants, an informant revealed the phenomenon of the "black market" in Essen and that the appointment numbers were being received either via friends or through Facebook. A woman distributes the Foreigner's Office appointments for a financial amount via phone call. The statement then adds, "For Syrians, the city of Essen is not much different from Damascus as the phenomenon of the black market is very widespread there and Syrians must always pay bribes to conduct their transactions."

Payment first

WDR received the phone number of the woman distributing appointments and tried to call in order to book a meeting at the Foreigners’ Office. They were asked about the reason why they wanted an appointment and their name, and that to determine the date of the appointment it would be necessary to pay an amount of money which had to be delivered to the metro station in the city of Essen.

The next day – immediately after the money was delivered - the appointment number was sent to the Foreigners Office via a message to Whatsapp, according to journalist Lina. "The appointment was made very quickly," she said.

Christian Crumberg, who is in charge of organizational affairs in the municipality of Essen said: "There are a lot of things that can not be resolved so quickly. It is not possible to increase the number of employees in this department to solve things, which would in turn allow the possibility of scheduling faster."        

An ongoing investigation

Essen officials, on condition of anonymity, confirmed they were "shocked by the investigative report by the WDR media organization on the issue of appointments booked for money at the Foreigners’ Office and immediately brought the case to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for investigation."

In the beginning, an employee in the Foreigners’ Office was suspected of involvement in the bribery, but these suspicions have not been yet confirmed. The investigation is still ongoing.