Germany halts voluntary visa programmes for refugees
Previously, the country occasionally granted a fixed number of humanitarian visas – usually including safe passage – to individuals in dangerous circumstances, such as dissidents in Russia and Syrian refugees in Turkey.
All such procedures have now been suspended, and will be permanently terminated as soon as possible in line with the government's coalition agreement, a spokesperson of the interior ministry said, according to Table.Briefings.
The suspension comes after a controversy over an admissions programme for Afghans facing a particular threat from the Taliban regime, which toppled the Western-backed government in 2021. The programme has relocated over 45,000 Afghans to Germany, including former local staff of Germany's armed forces.
Earlier this year, reports emerged that arrivals had purportedly been insufficiently screened for security risks, with doubts being raised over the identity of some Afghan arrivals. The then-government, led by Olaf Scholz, stated that all arrivals had been screened.
As part of its wider crackdown on migration, the new conservative-led government suspended previous visa commitments, leaving some 2,300 people stranded in Pakistan, who had been preparing for passage to Germany.
The decision, however, has been dogged by legal difficulties. Earlier this month, an administrative court in Berlin ruled that Germany has to allow for safe passage if a previous legal commitment was made, referring specifically to the case of an Afghan family.
Over the last four years, most of Germany's humanitarian visas were granted to Afghans, ahead of Syrians and Russians, according to Table.Briefings , which cites data from the German foreign office. Overall admissions numbers have fallen consistently since then, from 23,000 in 2022 to 10,500 last year.
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Germany halts voluntary visa programmes for refugees
BERLIN – Germany suspended its voluntary humanitarian visa programmes for refugees, the interior ministry announced on its website on Thursday. Previously, the country occasionally granted a fixed number of humanitarian visas – usually including safe passage – to individuals in dangerous circumstances, such as dissidents in Russia and Syrian refugees in Turkey. All such procedures have now been suspended, and will be permanently terminated as soon as possible in line with the government's coalition agreement, a spokesperson of the interior ministry said, according to The suspension comes after a controversy over an admissions programme for Afghans facing a particular threat from the Taliban regime, which toppled the Western-backed government in 2021. The programme has relocated over 45,000 Afghans to Germany, including former local staff of Germany's armed forces. Earlier this year, reports emerged that arrivals had purportedly been insufficiently screened for security risks, with doubts being raised over the identity of some Afghan arrivals. The then-government, led by Olaf Scholz, stated that all arrivals had been screened. As part of its wider crackdown on migration, the new conservative-led government suspended previous visa commitments, leaving some 2,300 people stranded in Pakistan, who had been preparing for passage to Germany. The decision, however, has been dogged by legal difficulties. Earlier this month, an administrative court in Berlin ruled that Germany has to allow for safe passage if a previous legal commitment was made, referring specifically to the case of an Afghan family. Over the last four years, most of Germany's humanitarian visas were granted to Afghans, ahead of Syrians and Russians, according to , which cites data from the German foreign office. Overall admissions numbers have fallen consistently since then, from 23,000 in 2022 to 10,500 last year. (mm)
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