LexBerg was instructed in 2021 to represent a Syrian national — a trained civil engineer — who had fled Damascus following targeted persecution by state security forces arising from his participation in pro-democracy activities. His initial asylum application had been rejected by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) on the grounds that the authority did not consider his stated reasons for flight to be sufficiently substantiated. He had been issued a deportation notice and was facing imminent removal to Syria when LexBerg was instructed to file an emergency appeal with the Berlin Administrative Court.

The client had been in Germany for three years at the time of instruction, had achieved B2 German language proficiency, held a recognised engineering qualification, and had secured a conditional job offer from a Berlin engineering firm pending stable residence. Despite these circumstances, the BAMF rejection made no reference to his professional background or integration progress and appeared to rely on country-of-origin information that was significantly out of date. The stakes could not have been higher: return to Syria for an individual with his profile carried a well-documented risk of detention, torture, and enforced disappearance.

LexBerg identified multiple substantive and procedural grounds for challenging the BAMF decision and simultaneously pursued parallel tracks to protect the client from removal while the appeal was pending. Speed was essential — the deportation had been scheduled within weeks of instruction.

The case combined an emergency injunction to halt deportation with a comprehensive appeal built on updated country evidence, procedural challenges to the original hearing, and compelling witness documentation of the client's personal risk profile.

• An emergency injunction under §80 VwGO was filed within 48 hours of instruction, successfully obtaining a stay of deportation from the Berlin Administrative Court pending the outcome of the appeal.
• Updated expert reports from two independent Syria specialists demonstrated that individuals with the client's profile — documented pro-democracy activists known to state security — faced acute risk on return.
• Contemporary social media records, third-party witness statements from fellow activists in Germany and the Netherlands, and Amnesty International documentation corroborated the client's account in detail.
• The BAMF credibility assessment was challenged procedurally, establishing that the original interview had been conducted without a qualified interpreter and that three key statements had been materially mistranslated.

The Berlin Administrative Court allowed the appeal in full and annulled the BAMF rejection decision. The court found that the authority had applied an incorrect legal standard, had failed to conduct an adequate individual risk assessment, and had relied on country-of-origin information that was eighteen months out of date at the time of the original decision. BAMF subsequently granted full refugee status without requiring a further hearing. The client received a three-year residence permit, took up the engineering position that had been held for him, and has since applied for a permanent settlement permit with LexBerg's continued support.