Afghanistan Germany: Few Afghans accept money for entry waiver
Only a few of the Afghans affected have accepted a financial offer from the German government to waive their admission to Germany.
19.11.2025, 09:32
SDA
"So far, ten percent of those contacted, which corresponds to 62 people, have declared their willingness to accept the offer," a spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Interior said in response to an inquiry. There is also contact with other applicants who have not yet made a final decision.
The government of Christian Democrat Chancellor Friedrich Merz had offered money to some of the people who have been waiting for months or even years in Pakistan to leave for Germany if they withdrew from the program.
Some were able to enter the country after a successful appeal
Since the change of government in Berlin in May, Afghans who have been granted asylum in Germany have been brought to Hanover on five scheduled flights from the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
A total of around 1,900 Afghans are still waiting in Pakistan to leave for Germany.
Under the previous government, the people were flown in on chartered planes. It remains to be seen whether there will be charter flights for them again in the near future. In addition to former local staff of German institutions and their relatives, Afghans who fear persecution by the Islamist Taliban, for example because they have campaigned for human rights as lawyers or journalists in the past, are also to be admitted via various other programs.
Time is of the essence
The fact that some of those affected and their relatives have been granted visas despite the Merz government's decision to halt their admission is due to the fact that legal action has been taken in Germany to enforce their entry. Some of those affected are being supported by the "Kabul Airlift" organization.
There is currently time pressure because the Pakistani authorities have announced that they will deport those waiting to Afghanistan at the end of this year if they have not left for Germany by then. In some cases, this has already happened.
The coalition agreement between the governing Christian Democrats and Social Democrats states: "We will end voluntary federal admission programs as far as possible (for example Afghanistan) and not set up any new programs."
