BERLIN, Nov 17: Germany's top security officials agreed on Friday to a plan to allow tens of thousands of long-term asylum-seekers the chance to legally remain in the country, giving preference to those who already have jobs.

Interior ministers from Germany's 16 states agreed that refugee asylum-seekers who have remained in the country for years awaiting decisions on their status would be granted a legal residence permit and the right to work.

Under the agreement, a revamped version of a proposal from members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet, asylum-seekers who already have jobs will immediately receive two-year residence permits that can be renewed.

Those asylum-seekers who do not have jobs receive residence permits until September 2007, a move aimed at giving them time to find work, said Volker Bouffier, the conservative interior minister of Hesse state.

Families with underage children are allowed to stay in the country, provided they have been here for at least six years, regardless of whether they are employed.

''In the interest of the children, it was necessary that we find a viable solution,'' said Uwe Schuenemann, interior minister for Lower Saxony.—AP