The Pham family: After 8 years of struggle, finally a residence permit in Berlin!

The Pham family: After 8 years of struggle, finally a residence permit in Berlin!

In a story that testifies to great hope and tireless commitment, Pham Phi Son, a former Vietnamese GDR contract worker, and his family have finally found peace. After years of fighting the threat of deportation and moving from Chemnitz to Berlin, they have now received a residence permit. That reports nd current.

The family faced a variety of challenges. Back in 2016, when Pham returned late after a vacation in Vietnam, an odyssey began that left her living underground for almost two years. The city of Chemnitz decided to revoke his residence permit in 2017 because he stayed in Vietnam for more than six months. Instead of a German passport, the family received a notice to leave the country when their daughter was born - a real blow for the family, which was firmly rooted in Germany.

The support of the community

However, resistance gathered over the years. Many people from Chemnitz stood up for the family. Protests, demonstrations and an online petition that garnered a whopping 107,000 signatures helped raise public awareness of their situation. Members of the SPD, the Left and the Greens as well as the Catholic Church stood by their side. This support led to the Chemnitz authorities ultimately agreeing to the family's move to Berlin, where they found a new home.

However, criticism of the Chemnitz immigration authorities remains. Frank Richter, a former Saxon SPD member of the state parliament, criticized the authorities' decision, while the Berlin administration recognized the family as a hardship case. “Saxony needs well-integrated workers like the Pham family,” he emphasized, expressing solidarity with their striving for a normal life. The parents now work in a canteen and their daughter Emilia attends a school in Berlin. A ray of hope in a long dark time.

Legal hurdles and the path to a residence permit

But the legal hurdles first had to be overcome. Despite a failed deportation attempt and the negative decision of the Saxon Hardship Commission, the fight for the family was not in vain. Jenny Fleischer, the family's lawyer, was convinced that the family had a right to a residence permit and fought vigorously for it.

Emily Barnickel from the Berlin Refugee Council found that the Berlin authorities had a different approach to dealing with the family than their colleagues in Chemnitz. This different handling shows how important it is to have a uniform approach to questions of residence rights, especially for people who have been an integrative part of our society for many years.

Despite the challenges they have endured, the family now has a new beginning. Pham Phi Son, his wife and their daughter finally have the security that had been denied them for a long time. For the benefit of their new neighborhood in Berlin and society as a whole, we will continue to follow how their story unfolds. We wish the Pham family all the best on their new journey!