*** Almost all protection seekers reject Dobrindt’s offer

  • In exchange for renouncing their admission approval, the Ministry of the Interior offered protection seekers from the bridging program and the human rights list with admission approval under §22.2 money and material benefits
  • All people with an admission approval via the human rights list and the bridging program (admission approval under §22.2 AufenthG), around 700 individuals, received the offer
  • The protection seekers responded with an open letter to the federal government, in which they wrote: “We fled from threats and death and sought protection with you. Before the war and the Taliban, we were people in our homeland with tasks, with responsibility, with dignity. We did not flee poverty, but violence and death. We do not understand this current proposal. Not from a government that is committed to human rights and believes in human dignity. We did not seek your protection because of money – we wanted and needed to escape Taliban rule in order to survive.”
  • You can find the entire letter in the attachment
  • After the two-week deadline expired on the evening of 17 November, 10 families (62 people) accepted the offer – corresponding to an acceptance rate of less than 10%
  • And this, although the federal government had increased pressure: For weeks, no one with admission approval under §22.2 has been receiving appointments for security checks at the embassy in Islamabad, and their cases are not being processed further
  • About half of the roughly 700 individuals from both programs have not yet had a security interview – what will happen to them after 31 December 2025 remains unclear
  • The result of the constitutional complaint (VB), filed at the end of September, could be decisive. The federal government must submit a statement by 24 November
  • The plaintiff’s family also has an admission approval under §22.2 via the human rights list
  • A positive decision could improve the chances of entry for other families from the bridging program, the human rights list, and local staff

 

*** Further entries after court rulings

  • On 30 October, as well as on 4 and 11 November, additional families entered the country
  • 2 families / 14 people on 30.10; 7 families / 31 people on 04.11; 2 families / 11 people on 11.11.
  • Among them was the family of the two underage sisters who were arrested in August without their parents and deported to Afghanistan. After weeks of separation, they were brought back to Islamabad and are now able to leave the country together with their family
  • More flights are imminent – the next families (a total of 52 people) will arrive on 20.11 in Hanover and Berlin
  • Among the people who entered the country were families whose right to a visa had already been confirmed at the end of July by a ruling of the Berlin Administrative Court
  • Since the last charter flight in April, entries have taken place exclusively by people who successfully sued for visa issuance
  • In total, 134 people have now been able to enter the country after successful lawsuits

 

*** Delay of proceedings due to unlawful revocations

  • More than 150 lawsuits for visa issuance are now pending before the Berlin Administrative Court, and more lawsuits are being filed daily
  • More than 50 proceedings have already been decided in favor of the applicants
  • More than 30 positive decisions were confirmed in the second instance by the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg
  • Despite the clear case law of the courts, it is not apparent that the federal government feels bound by the admission approvals. Instead of doing everything possible to implement the departures as quickly as possible, the proceedings continue to be delayed
  • Even after a successful lawsuit before the Higher Administrative Court, many families have their admission approval withdrawn or revoked by the BAMF
  • Lawsuits against this practice show: The attempts by the Ministry of the Interior to revoke admission approvals are being declared unlawful by the responsible administrative courts (VG Ansbach and in second instance the Bavarian VGH). The admission approvals remain valid and legally binding
  • As a consequence, the families win legally but remain for weeks or months in Pakistan, where they continue to be exposed unprotected to the danger of arrest and deportation by Pakistani authorities. The federal government knowingly and willingly accepts this.
  • Numerous families have experienced police violence because of this, families have been torn apart, underage children and pregnant women have been arrested, and in several cases emergency medical care was needed as a result of the raids. We have received reports from several women who suffered miscarriages following the arrests
  • Nevertheless, BAMF staff are instructed to issue revocations and withdrawals, placing families in danger
  • While the protection seekers must continue to enforce the admission promises in court, representatives of the Taliban are invited to Germany by the Minister of the Interior and take over the Afghan Embassy in Berlin as well as the consulate in Bonn

 

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