What's at stake?
The KAV election on March 15, 2026 determines who will represent the interests of roughly 223,000 Frankfurt residents without a German passport for the next five years. Six policy areas define this election — from the chronic crisis at the immigration office to the question of whether this body has enough teeth to actually make a difference.
Frankfurt's Immigration Office — A Permanent Crisis
The Frankfurt Ausländerbehörde (foreigners' registration authority) is the government office that most directly shapes the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of non-Germans in this city — and the one that is routinely described as dysfunctional. Wait times of 6 to 16 weeks for a standard appointment to renew a residence permit are not the exception but the norm. The office serves around 200,000 non-Germans, making it one of the busiest in Germany — and it has been battling staff shortages, high turnover, and outdated processes for years.
The consequences are concrete and serious. Expired Aufenthaltstitel (residence permits) create problems with employers, banks, and landlords. Job offers fall through because work permits cannot be processed in time. The Fiktionsbescheinigung (temporary bridging certificate) is meant to cover the gap but is frequently not accepted by third parties — out of ignorance or simple unwillingness. These delays affect people's livelihoods directly.
In November 2024, the KAV passed a formal statement declaring the situation untenable and demanding fundamental reform: more staff, a functional digital appointment system, and above all a cultural shift away from enforcement toward service orientation. Progress has been limited — the city has announced additional positions, but hiring is slow and the online booking system still sells out within minutes of each release.
For the 2026 KAV election, the Ausländerbehörde is the central issue. Every non-EU citizen must interact with it. Candidates will be judged on whether they have a real plan to change this. [Current wait times 2026: research ongoing]
Daycare Shortages, Schools, and German as a Second Language
Frankfurt needs thousands of additional Kita (daycare) places — this is not new information, but the gap persists. For foreign families, the general shortage is compounded by language barriers in the enrollment process: German-language forms, German-language conversations, and a system that operates very differently from what most families knew in their home countries. Some parents report structural disadvantage when limited German proficiency is used as an informal exclusion criterion.
In schools, the situation is no simpler. More than half of Frankfurt's children under 18 have a migration background — German as a Second Language (Deutsch als Zweitsprache, DaZ) is therefore not a niche subject but a core educational requirement. Yet DaZ teachers are in short supply, and intensive language classes for recent arrivals are chronically underfunded. The quality of support varies dramatically between neighborhoods: schools in Gallus, Griesheim, and Fechenheim are at capacity while resources elsewhere sit idle.
Germany's early tracking system — the split into Gymnasium, Realschule, and Hauptschule — systematically disadvantages children who are still learning the language. Recognition of foreign school qualifications is slow and often frustrating. The KAV has consistently advocated for multilingual parent communications, more DaZ staff, and stronger representation of foreign parents in school advisory bodies (Schulelternbeiräte).
On the numbers: Frankfurt reported a shortage of over 5,000 Kita places in 2024. New facilities are being built, but construction and recruitment are both lagging behind demand. [Current figures for 2026: research ongoing]
Housing Market — Expensive, Discriminatory, Tight
Frankfurt is one of Germany's most expensive housing markets — new contract rents of €14 to €17 per square meter are common. For foreign applicants, the general scarcity is compounded by a documented pattern of discrimination: studies consistently show that applicants with foreign-sounding names receive significantly fewer responses to rental listings. The informal "no foreigners" preference among some landlords is illegal but widespread in practice.
Social housing (Sozialwohnungen) in Frankfurt has declined sharply since the 1990s as social use obligations expire and new construction fails to keep pace. The city-owned ABG Frankfurt Holding and Nassauische Heimstätte are the main affordable housing providers — but waiting lists are long, and the application process is particularly opaque for people with limited German proficiency or uncertain residency status.
Spatial segregation compounds the problem. Neighborhoods with high immigrant populations — Gallus, Griesheim, parts of Höchst — tend to have lower rents but also worse infrastructure, more noise, and higher environmental burden. The gentrification of formerly affordable areas like the Ostend (catalyzed by the ECB's move there in 2015) has displaced many immigrant families. The KAV has pushed for discrimination testing in the housing market and multilingual housing counseling services.
The rent brake (Mietpreisbremse) is in force in Frankfurt but is regularly circumvented. Several major development projects are underway or planned — but rising construction costs and interest rates are slowing delivery. [Current rent index and vacancy data 2026: research ongoing]
Discrimination — Structural, Everyday, Underdocumented
Structural discrimination runs through nearly every area of life for foreign residents in Frankfurt: housing, the labor market, schools, and dealings with government agencies. The General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) provides some legal recourse — but enforcement is weak, the burden of proof falls on those affected, and time limits are short. Many cases are never reported at all.
Frankfurt has had a municipal anti-discrimination office since 1989 — the Amt für multikulturelle Angelegenheiten (AmkA) — one of the first in Germany. The AmkA provides counseling, funds community projects, and publishes annual reports. But it has no power to sanction offenders. Hessen still lacks a state-level anti-discrimination law (Landesantidiskriminierungsgesetz), even though Berlin passed a pioneering version in 2020.
The racist attack in Hanau on February 19, 2020 — in which nine people with migration backgrounds were murdered — fundamentally changed the political conversation. The Initiative 19. Februar Hanau has since fought for accountability and structural reform. In Frankfurt, February 19 has become a central date in public memory. The KAV has passed resolutions calling for stronger city-level action, including systematic data collection on discrimination incidents.
Racial profiling is also on the agenda. Residents — particularly around the Hauptbahnhof — report being stopped for ID checks without apparent cause. The KAV has publicly raised the issue and called for dialogue with the police authorities. [Current AmkA annual report 2025/26: research ongoing]
The "Toothless Tiger" — Voting Rights and KAV Reform
Non-EU citizens cannot vote in German municipal elections. The KAV exists precisely because of this democratic deficit: it is the only form of political representation available to roughly 130,000 non-EU citizens in Frankfurt. But the KAV is an advisory body — it can make recommendations to the city parliament, but it cannot pass laws or control budgets. Critics call it a toothless tiger.
The debate over extending municipal voting rights to non-EU citizens is not new. Supporters point to countries like Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands, where long-term residents can vote in local elections regardless of citizenship. In Germany, Article 28 of the Basic Law blocks this without a constitutional amendment — the Federal Constitutional Court explicitly ruled this in 1990. A two-thirds majority in both the Bundestag and Bundesrat would be required. That majority does not currently exist.
The KAV Frankfurt is among the most vocal advocates for this reform. At the same time, many KAV members work pragmatically to strengthen the existing body: greater influence over Magistrat decisions, earlier involvement in planning processes, better resources. The paradox: if municipal voting rights were extended, the KAV in its current form would become obsolete — and most of its supporters would welcome that outcome.
Turnout in the last KAV election was 5–7%. Many analyses link this directly to the advisory-only status: if voters feel their vote has no real consequences, they don't show up. That's the core problem — and also the reason this election still matters. [Current federal reform initiatives 2025/26: research ongoing]
Cultural Diversity — More Than a Festival
Frankfurt is one of Germany's most international cities — over 180 nationalities call it home, and around one third of the population holds no German passport. This diversity is economic capital, cultural wealth, and social reality all at once. But cultural recognition means more than a multicultural festival in the summer: it starts with migrant self-organizations (Migrantenselbstorganisationen) receiving enough funding to operate sustainably.
Hundreds of foreign associations and cultural organizations are active in Frankfurt — from small diaspora groups to established cultural centers. Many struggle with chronically tight budgets, complex registration procedures, and the perception that they are systematically disadvantaged in municipal arts funding compared to German-run organizations. The AmkA provides some support, but the available resources fall far short of the need.
Cultural recognition also means taking heritage languages seriously. Multilingual school programs, heritage language instruction (Herkunftssprachenunterricht, HSU), and mother-tongue library collections are all underdeveloped in Frankfurt. Many parents are fighting to ensure their children don't lose the language of their grandparents. The KAV has repeatedly advocated for expanded HSU provision and better networking between cultural associations and city institutions.
Religious diversity is part of this picture too. Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and other faith communities need spaces, recognition, and occasional support navigating bureaucratic hurdles. The KAV often acts as an intermediary between these communities and the city administration. [Current funding data for migrant organizations 2025/26: research ongoing]
KAV Election · March 15, 2026
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