HELP - the Taliban have taken over the government in Afghanistan

There are no more deportations from Germany to Afghanistan.Since December 2016, approximately 1000 people have been deported to Afghanistan.

Refugees from Afghanistan are the second largest refugee group in Germany (approx. 181,000*), after Syrians. 66% of Afghans in Germany have a status of protection. Most of them have received a deportation ban according to §§ 60 (5) and (7) of the Residence Act. Currently, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) is "back-prioritizing" the decision of Afghanistan cases, which means a de facto decision freeze. There should be a new situation report from the Foreign Office by the end of September.

I am worried about my friends and family who are still in Afghanistan, how can I manage to bring them to Germany to safety?Options for endangered people in Afghanistan:

1. Evacuation/reception programs

Evacuations were completed on 8/26/21 with the last flight of a German plane, but plans are in place to take in more Afghan*s:

• All local staff and their family members (only the nuclear family, i.e., spouse and minor children (for adult children a so-called hardship case according to § 36 (2) Residence Act can be applied for) who worked for German institutions as of 2013.
• Those who were identified as particularly endangered until the end of the evacuation measures;
• Afghan employees of non-governmental organizations;
• Afghan employees of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ);
• Human rights activists;
• Women's rights activists;
• Journalists;
• Persons with a German residence title.

If Germany has already given a promise of admission (usually by email), these people are contacted and given further instructions. The way across the border into the neighboring countries has to be organized by themselves. The German embassies in all neighboring countries then issue these people the necessary documents to enter Germany upon presentation of the acceptance letter. Germany is currently trying to reach agreements with the neighboring countries and the Taliban to ensure safe entry into the neighboring countries.

If Germany has not yet offered the prospect of departure to Germany and there is not yet a promise of admission, the following applies:Email with the following information to: buergerservice@diplo.de:

• First name and last name of all persons
• Dates of birth of all persons
• Passport number or ID number (Tazkira) of all persons
• Nationality of all persons
• E-mail address and / or cell phone numbers.
• Documents or descriptions, which prove that the persons are particularly endangered
• Connections to Germany.The admission is then made according to § 22 (2) Residence Act - an individual confirmation of the Federal Department of the Interior.

2. Family reunification

As before, visa applications for family reunification can be submitted to the German embassies in Islamabad (Pakistan) and New Delhi (India). Currently, there are over 4,000 people on the waiting lists for a first appointment, and the waiting time is over a year. The visa process itself then also takes an inordinate amount of time. Under certain circumstances, it is possible to achieve faster processing of the visa by means of urgent judicial proceedings. The Berlin Administrative Court has granted an expedited procedure because it affirmed a threat to the family members in Afghanistan (VG 10 L 285/21 V).

3. Visa to take up studies in Germany (confirmation of application, subsistence must be secured).

4. Visa to take up an apprenticeship (apprenticeship place must be assured, subsistence must be secured).

5. Visa in the context of skilled worker immigration (qualified training or studies in Afghanistan, concrete job offer, recognition of certificates).

A lot of useful information can be found here: handbookgermany.de

Will my residence status change due to the changes in Afghanistan?How the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) will decide on asylum applications and follow-up asylum applications after the Taliban takeover is still largely unclear. However, a follow-up asylum application can always be filed if there are new reasons for granting the asylum, such as now the significant human rights and humanitarian changes of the situation in Afghanistan.

We recommend those to file a follow-up asylum application in accordance with Section 71 of the Asylum Act,

• who are only in possession of a normal toleration (also an employment toleration) and for whom a right to stay according to §§ 25a or 25b Residence Act is not available in the near future.
• Similarly, those with rejected asylum applications due to a domestic escape alternative within Afghanistan should file a follow-up application.The follow-up asylum application must be filed within 3 months after the changed circumstances in Afghanistan become known (8/15/2021), i.e., by Friday, 10/13/2021. Follow-up applications must be filed in person at the BAMF field office in whose district applicants resided during the previous asylum procedure. It is best to hand in a written reasoned application there. However, we do not advise those to submit a follow-up asylum application who have a residence permit according to
• § 22 Residence Act (admission permit).
• §23 Residence Act (federal and state reception programs).
• §25 (3) to (5) of the Residence Act (residence for humanitarian reasons due to a banof deportation). The residence title expires if a follow-up asylum application is filed. The procedure starts again. Likewise, one should not file a follow-up asylum application.
• If a settlement permit is imminent according to §26 (4) Residence Act.
• In the case of a training toleration according to §60c Residence Act if the successfulcompletion of the training is imminent. Then, there is the possibility of a residencepermit according to § 19d Residence Act.
• If one is about to reach the prior residence periods for §25a (well-integrated youngpeople) or §25b Residence Act (sustainable integration). Obtaining a residence permit through these provisions is faster than pursuing a new asylum procedure.We wish everyone good luck!

* mediendienst-integration.de This article was first published in German.