German government often loses court battles over Afghan visas

The Berlin Administrative Court has sided with Afghan applicants in dozens of urgent cases over Germany's admission commitments, a court spokeswoman told dpa.

By early September, judges had ruled in favour of Afghan women and men in 32 proceedings, in most cases ordering that entry visas be issued, the spokeswoman said. In a few instances where security checks were still pending, the government was instructed to at least make a decision on the visa applications.

The cases involve Afghans in the federal admission programme, which promises entry to Germany for people deemed particularly at risk. Many of them have been waiting months for visas.

After the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, various admission procedures for people from Afghanistan were established. The new conservative-led government, however, stopped the programmes shortly after taking office at the beginning of May.

In total, the court had received 64 urgent applications by early September. Of these, 32 were decided in favour of the plaintiffs and 10 were dismissed, while the remainder are still pending, the spokeswoman said.

Government appeals often fail

In several cases, the Foreign Office lodged appeals against the rulings – but often without success.

According to the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court, judges in the second instance rejected six appeals, while the Foreign Office withdrew two. It was successful in two other cases. Not all appeal proceedings have been concluded and new cases continue to be filed, a spokesman said.

Overall, the Higher Administrative Court has ruled on 28 appeals this year relating to visas for Afghan nationals, the spokesman added.

Some 2,000 still waiting in Pakistan

More than 2,000 Afghans are waiting in Pakistan to travel to Germany under the various admission programmes. Pakistani authorities recently detained several of them despite Germany's promise of admission and dozens were deported back to Afghanistan