An Afghan woman and her family will not be granted visas to enter Germany for the time being – even though authorities had already promised to accept them.
In the latest chapter of the saga about an Afghan family stuck in Pakistan, a German court on Thursday (July 31) ruled that the German government does not have to issue visas to the family for the time being.
The judgment by the higher administrative court of Berlin-Brandenburg temporarily suspended a July 7 ruling by the administrative court of Berlin. According to German Catholic news agency KNA, Thursday's ruling is to prevent facts from being established before a final decision is made, which is expected at the end of August at the latest.
The background to the case stems from a dispute over the federal admission program for particularly vulnerable Afghans. The present case concerns commitments made by the federal government to a law lecturer and her 13 family members who are waiting for visas in Pakistan.
In the first instance, the administrative court in early July declared in summary proceedings that the German government should honor its promise to issue visas to the Afghan family. The federal government had "legally committed itself to admission by means of final, irrevocable admission notices", the ruling read.
There were moreover no known security concerns linked to the family, and their identity had been checked and approved, according to news agency KNA.
As InfoMigrants reported late last month, the German government then issued a complaint against the decision, which resulted in Thursday's ruling suspending the earlier July ruling.
Admission program for at-risk Afghans
The federal admission program, on which the family was hoping to fly to Germany, was a special one begun in October 2022. It offered visas and safe passage for people and families who might be most at risk from the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
On the basis of this program, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) issued so-called admission commitments to applicants in October 2023.
According to information from the German Foreign Office in mid-June, around 2,400 people in Pakistan are waiting to receive visas. Those affected include people who have campaigned for equality and democracy, according to the information provided.
As of June 20, around 2,400 Afghans in Pakistan were waiting to travel to Germany, according to the German Foreign Office.
While the current government announced it would end admission programs like the one for Afghanistan as far as possible, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on July 20 pledged that Germany would admit those Afghans waiting in Pakistan, provided they hold a legally binding admission confirmation from the previous government and there are no security concerns surrounding them.
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The family's case
In mid-May, InfoMigrants spoke to the family's lawyer in Germany, Dr. Matthias Lehnert.
Lehnert told InfoMigrants the family consisted of a woman as a main claimant, her aunt, mother and her sisters and their husbands and children. He sent us a redacted version of the claim the woman and her family brought against the German government at the time.
In their legal claim against the German government, the family outlined that they had been waiting for a year and a half in Pakistan, and that they had already undergone a series of security interviews with German representatives there.
In March this year, they were told their visas were ready, but according to the German media outlet Die Welt, the planned flight was cancelled.
At the time, InfoMigrants approached the foreign ministry about the case. The sources there said they could not comment on ongoing lawsuits.
with KNA
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