Germany must honor visa obligations to Afghan refugees, rules court

BERLIN (Reuters): A German court ruled on Tuesday that the government is obliged to issue visas to Afghan nationals and their family members who were accepted into a humanitarian admissions program that the new center-right coalition intends to shut down.

After the hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 by Western allies, Germany established several programs to resettle local staff as well as particularly vulnerable Afghans.

Since May 2021, Germany has admitted about 36,500 vulnerable Afghans including former local staff by various pathways.

Some 2,400 Afghans approved for admission are waiting in Pakistan to travel to Germany without a clear idea of when, as the program has been suspended pending a government review, the foreign ministry in Berlin said this month.

The court decision, in response to an urgent appeal by an Afghan woman and her family, ruled that the government was legally bound to honor its “irrevocable” commitment to them.

“The applicants assert that they are entitled to a visa and can no longer remain in Pakistan. They face deportation to Afghanistan, where they fear for their lives,” it said.

However, the government is within its rights to end the program for Afghans and refrain from issuing any new admission commitments going forward, according to the court in Berlin.

NGOs have said that an additional 17,000 Afghans are in the early stages of selection and application under the now-dormant scheme.

The court’s decision can be appealed.

The foreign ministry did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Germany’s new government has pledged a tougher stance on migration after several high-profile attacks and the rise of the far-right made it a pivotal issue in February elections.

As a part of that push, conservative Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has vowed to halt refugee admission programs and to deport people to Afghanistan and Syria.