CEAS asylum law reform: Questions and answers

The abbreviation CEAS stands for "Common European Asylum System". The CEAS reform, adopted in May 2024, involves profound changes to the asylum systems of all EU member states. The legal acts will be directly applicable from June 2026. In Germany, the CEAS reform represents the most significant change to German asylum law since 1993. 

In all measures, the best interests of the child must be given priority, as stipulated by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In reality, however, it is to be expected that the reform will significantly expand the possibilities for detention and placement of asylum seekers in prison-like conditions. Children and families also face the threat of prison-like conditions if they are placed in closed or de facto closed facilities at the EU's external borders, but also within Germany.

The German government is focusing its implementation of the CEAS reform in Germany primarily on a significant expansion of measures restricting and depriving refugees of their liberty. Even children, under certain conditions, could be detained or placed in detention-like conditions, for example, in so-called "secondary migration centers." Details can be found in a joint factsheet by Terre des Hommes and PRO ASYL.

A safe environment is especially important for children and their development. They must be allowed to go to school, play, and receive age-appropriate support. This is not possible in (semi-)closed facilities or even in detention. Such placements are catastrophic for children's mental health and prevent them from settling in, learning the language, and participating in life.

In numerous other areas, stricter measures are also looming for refugee children and young people. Among other things, the reform introduces mandatory screening of all asylum seekers, particularly at the external borders, and aims to accelerate procedures overall, for example, through so-called border procedures. These new procedures pose numerous risks for refugee children and young people – not only regarding their accommodation during the procedures, but also because their specific protection needs cannot be adequately identified and addressed in accelerated processes. Further information can be found, for example, in our position paper (2025) or in the article "Children's Rights and the CEAS Reform". 

Yes, the CEAS reform also includes approaches that could offer opportunities for refugee children: For example, refugee children are to have the same right to healthcare as German minors. Independent monitoring is also planned to ensure compliance with human rights. Furthermore, faster access to schooling and education within the regular system is to be guaranteed. These points are important and correct, but their effectiveness is unclear because their practical implementation remains unresolved – for instance, how school attendance in regular schools is to be practically implemented when families with school-age children are housed in large special centers. 

To protect children's rights, Terre des Hommes strategically contributed to the legislative process surrounding the CEAS reform with numerous expert opinions, statements, and campaigns, offering concrete recommendations, organizing parliamentary events, holding discussions with politicians , and staging actions . The most important recommendations are summarized in a joint position paper with other organizations. Terre des Hommes include:

• Detention in the context of migration is incompatible with the best interests of the child and must be prohibited by law.
• Children do not belong in prison-like facilities . For them, it makes no difference whether it is legally considered imprisonment or prison-like accommodation – what matters is their lived reality. Restrictive accommodations are no place for children.
• Special protection needs must be identified early and in a binding manner in order to enable appropriate accommodation for children and their families.
• Refugee children need quick access to school and education .
• Unaccompanied minors entering the country without parental accompaniment and the protection of their families must be given special protection. This includes ensuring that youth welfare offices have initial responsibility and that they have legal and independent representation . The age assessment of unaccompanied minors must continue to be carried out during the initial period of temporary protective custody; in cases of doubt, they should be presumed to be minors.

The legal background is provided in the expert opinion by Prof. Constantin Hruschka and Robert Nestler .

Even after the legislative process for the CEAS reform has been completed, there is still room for maneuver in its implementation – particularly at the municipal and state levels, for example regarding accommodation. Here, states and municipalities can continue to make many decisions about which structures they create and which solutions they find for the reception of refugee children and young people.

Terre des Hommes the exhibition and report "No Place for Children ." Committed individuals and interested parties can borrow, display, and recommend the exhibition free of charge: it highlights different accommodation structures and explains what these conditions mean for refugee children. This allows people to inform themselves and local decision-makers, raise awareness, and create targeted spaces for dialogue about how the rights of refugee children can be better protected, even during the implementation of the CEAS reform.