Public prosecutors in Germany are investigating allegations of corruption at the Bielefeld immigration office, where employees are suspected of issuing permanent residence permits in return for payments of thousands of euros.
The Bielefeld public prosecutor’s office confirmed to public broadcaster WDR that four people are under investigation for bribery, accepting bribes, and granting and accepting undue advantages. Two of the suspects are employees of the city of Bielefeld, while the other two include an interpreter and a person who allegedly first obtained a residence permit and then assisted in the suspected criminal activities.
According to investigators, the case concerns at least 15 suspected incidents between September 2023 and October 2025. In one instance, a payment of €4,000 is alleged to have been made in exchange for a so-called settlement permit, which grants permanent residence.
Prosecutors are also examining allegations that bribes were paid to secure faster appointment dates at the immigration office.
Searches were carried out in November and December 2025 at the homes of the suspects. According to WDR, the searches also included offices within the Bielefeld immigration authority itself, and several devices were seized.
A permanent residence permit is the silver standard for migrants, only inferior to citizenship. Migrants must usually meet several conditions in order to obtain it. Applicants must typically have held a valid residence permit or paid into the statutory pension system for at least five years, as well as show sufficient funds or income, and have proficient German language skills.
The two employees at the agency have been suspended pending investigation, and Bielefeld mayor Christian Bauer has instructed the city’s audit office to repurpose itself as an anti-corruption unit to probe the agency.
This is far from an isolated incident of corruption and fraud in relation to illegal immigration across Europe. In September last year, a major investigation by broadcasters NTV, RTL, and Stern magazine uncovered a booming trade in forged language and integration certificates on TikTok, with fake documents being used to gain German residence permits and citizenship.
Similarly, in July 2024, thousands of people were alleged to have traveled to Germany with false documents at the behest of the German Foreign Ministry, with several German embassies and consulates implicated in the scandal.
In Spain last October, the Spanish National Police announced the arrest of 12 people for orchestrating fraudulent partnerships between Spaniards and illegal immigrants using sham marriages and forged documents in order to obtain residence permits, while in France last January, a civil servant from the Nancy foreigners’ admission service in Nancy was referred to the public prosecutor’s office to face allegations of corruption and fraud after being accused of facilitating the stay of illegal migrants in exchange for cash.
