Around 360 Afghans who had been granted places on a federal program for evacuating vulnerable Afghans and human rights defenders, and around 50 who worked for the German military or government in Afghanistan are due to arrive in Germany shortly.

They follow 32 Afghan nationals who landed in the German capital Berlin last Friday (January 9). Many of those who arrived on Friday had been waiting in Pakistan for "months or even years," reported the German press agency dpa.

The German Interior Ministry made the announcement on Monday (January 12), saying that their travel permissions were currently being processed, reported the French news agency Agence France Presse (AFP).

Read AlsoGerman government revokes Afghan admissions and tightens resettlement policy

Permission rescinded

The German government, which took over in May last year, had been trying to reduce the numbers of Afghans being brought to Germany, but a series of court cases and criticism from human rights organizations, political opposition parties and in some cases former officials, meant that they largely agreed to honor most of the permissions already issued under the previous government to Afghans waiting in Pakistan who had been approved for travel to Germany, but not yet issued with the final visas or flight tickets.

However, around 600 of those on a special program for human rights defenders and Afghans judged to be vulnerable to the Taliban regime did have their previously issued permissions to come to Germany rescinded.

Many of those had been told previously by German officials to travel from Afghanistan to Pakistan. The processes required to check their eligibility for the programs were carried out there, as the German government doesn’t have a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan itself. Staying in Afghanistan may also not have been safe for them.

Read AlsoMore than 250 organizations urge Berlin to admit stranded Afghans into Germany

Deportations from Pakistan

However, over the last couple of years, the Pakistani authorities have stepped up their own deportation efforts against the Afghan community in Pakistan, many of whom may have been living there for decades.

The Pakistani authorities began by deporting people whose visas or permits to be in Pakistan had expired, but then they also closed the process to reapply for visas and permits, making it difficult for even those who had arrived by legal means to continue their presence in Pakistan legally.

This affected many of those on the German lists too, some of whom told reporters and human rights organizations that they were living effectively in fear and hiding from the Pakistani authorities.

Since May, the German government has announced suspensions of the Afghan program, but has been forced to start up the evacuations again. This was partly in response to deadlines issued by the Pakistani authorities, which threatened to deport all remaining Afghans in Pakistan without the correct permits back to Afghanistan.

Read Also192 Afghans arrive in Germany on charter flight from Pakistan

Future uncertain?

Around 630 who are on the special German program for human rights defenders and vulnerable Afghans are being accommodated in Pakistan at the moment, a spokesperson at the German Interior Ministry told the press on Monday.

They will be supported by German officials, the interior ministry added, explaining that if they failed to qualify for the German evacuation program, officials would offer those people a voluntary return to Afghanistan or a place in a safe third country.

Previously, the majority of those offered a return to Afghanistan have refused, claiming that they would face death and danger if forced to return, irrespective of the sums of money offered to them to return.

According to dpa on Friday (January 9), Afghans waiting in Pakistan on various German programs can be divided as follows: around 220 Afghan nationals who had previously worked for the German government or military in Afghanistan, about 60 nationals who were on the “human rights” evacuation list, and around 600 Afghans on the so-called “bridging program” as well as around 1,000 Afghans on the special German federal evacuation program for Afghanistan. All in all, this adds up to around 2,000, several hundred of whom have now been evacuated to Germany since the summer.

Read AlsoAfghans promised entry to Germany now likely to be allowed admission

Evacuations to Germany

In December, the German Foreign Office issued an update regarding evacuations from Afghanistan to Germany. According to the German government, more than 35,500 people from Afghanistan have already been transferred to Germany since the Taliban took power in August 2021.

That includes around 20,600 people who worked for the German military or government in Afghanistan and their family members, as well as around 14,900 Afghans and their family members who were judged to be in particular danger under the Taliban regime.

Most of these people, stated the German government, were brought to Germany under the special evacuation program for Afghans, which functioned between 2022 and 2025. The current government promised in its coalition contract to reduce or end as many of these programs as possible under the current legislation.

The German government has promised to pay for accommodation and living costs for Afghans who worked for the German military and government who have already been issued with permission to come to Germany and are currently waiting in Pakistan. That is, until they can be safely flown to Germany.

For Afghans on the civil lists, who perhaps worked as journalists, culture or science and were judged under threat from the Taliban, they will be contacted by external services working on behalf of the German government, and who will "explain the next steps for those who had already applied and been accepted on special German programs."

With AFP and dpa 

Read AlsoGermany: 52 people arrive as part of admissions programs for at-risk Afghans