Germany will lift its months-long ban on the entry of vulnerable Afghan nationals it had pledged to admit, a foreign ministry official said on Tuesday, following mounting legal pressure at home and a deportation push by Pakistan.
Around 2,000 Afghans approved for relocation under a programme for those deemed at risk under Taliban rule have been stranded in neighbouring Pakistan for months, after Berlin froze admissions amid a pledge to curb migration.
“In Pakistan, individuals are at different stages of the departure process. The various verification procedures are currently resuming,” the official said. “Personnel from the competent authorities are on the ground in Pakistan to continue the admission procedures.”
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The decision follows several lawsuits filed by groups and dozens of Afghans challenging the freeze.
The interior ministry, which initially halted the programme, confirmed that Afghan nationals promised admission were undergoing individual case reviews.
“Afghans for whom the Federal Republic of Germany has been legally obliged by binding court decisions to issue visas and allow entry will gradually be admitted to Germany,” a ministry official said. Only Afghans with binding admission approvals will be allowed in after security checks, and exit permits from Pakistan would still be required, the official added.
Matthias Lehnert, a lawyer representing Afghans who brought legal challenges, said he had informed families of the decision and that they were “overjoyed.”
“These are all proceedings enforced through the courts. In that sense, the federal government is doing the absolute minimum,” he said.
Urgency
The move comes as Pakistan prepares to expel Afghan refugees by a September 1 deadline, including those in Germany’s relocation programme.
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Lehnert, who won four cases against the government, said courts had ruled that Afghans could rely on Berlin’s admission commitments and were at serious risk of deportation to Afghanistan if not relocated.
“That’s why it’s really scandalous that the government isn’t acting in all the other cases and continues to drag things out,” he added.
Families with successful court rulings are expected to leave Pakistan soon, though details remain unclear.
Eva Beyer, media and advocacy officer for aid group Kabul Luftbruecke (Kabul Air Bridge), said many Afghans had been waiting “for months, even years” to depart. She noted they would be flown to Germany on regular commercial airlines, not charter flights.
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