After months of political impasse, Germany is preparing to bring a large number of Afghans under the federal admissions program to Germany by the end of the year, a spokesperson for the interior ministry said on Wednesday (November 26).

This applies to an estimated 1,200 individuals waiting in Pakistan -- an estimated 200 former local staff of Germany's missions in Afghanistan, and around 930 Afghan nationals who received a legally binding admission approval under Germany's Federal Admissions Program. They would be issued visas following a positive security screening, according to reports by Welt, citing the ministry.

All other affected individuals -- there are an estimated 1,800 Afghans in total waiting in Pakistan -- must assume that they will not be able to enter. Roughly 700 people in Pakistan, who received admissions commitments under the human rights list and the bridging program, have been told they now have little to no chance of obtaining visas. 

These groups include judges, activists, and individuals who worked on democratic governance projects, many of whom say they face severe risk under Taliban rule. One Afghan judge has filed a constitutional complaint against Germany after being denied entry despite having received a written promise beforehand. The case remains pending. 

Insulted to be offered cash 

The Federal Admissions Program for Afghanistan was set up in October 2022 for Afghans at risk following the takeover of the Taliban in August 2021. It was put on hold in May 2025, when Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt froze new transfers, citing security concerns and procedural reviews.  

In recent months, however, a small number had been transferred following legal proceedings. Last week, a reported 52 Afghan nationals arrived in Germany under the program.

Earlier this month, the German government offered cash between 2,500 to 10,000 euros in exchange for Afghans withdrawing from and agreeing to be permanently disqualified from similar admission programs in the future.  

The offer was met with indignant outrage by some Afghans who wrote an open letter to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz this month, the local news outlet Kabul Now reported.

"Many of us have worked with Germany and have spent valuable years of our lives at your side. We were important allies, comrades, fellow fighters, and friends. … It hurts us deeply when someone tries to use money to persuade us to sell our safety — and, for some of us, our lives," the letter read. 

Out of the Afghan nationals qualified for the cash scheme, only a reported 62 availed of the offer.  

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Escaping Taliban rule 

The Taliban’s return to power in August 2021 triggered a massive displacement crisis. Former civil servants, women’s rights defenders, journalists, NGO workers, and people linked to Western missions fled Afghanistan in fear of persecution. 

Many crossed into Pakistan, one of the few accessible and affordable escape routes. Historically, neighboring Pakistan has accommodated waves of exodus from Afghanistan for many decades. The tradition of neighborly refuge included Afghans fleeing from the Soviet invasion in late 1979. 

However, in the wake of deadly clashes between the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan last month, Pakistani authorities have intensified their efforts to repatriate Afghan migrants, including escalating police raids on Afghan-run shops and rented homes. 

In August, Islamabad deported around 211 Afghans who were approved for resettlement in Germany back to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

For the thousands of Afghans still in Pakistan, time is running out. With the country’s temporary protection arrangement expiring at the end of December, Afghans without completed onward travel face the risk of arrest or deportation back to Afghanistan. 

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