Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe has struck down the Interior Ministry’s blanket cancellation of previously-approved humanitarian admissions for Afghans, ruling that each case must be assessed individually. The decision came after an Afghan mother and her two children – who have been waiting in Pakistan since 2021 – challenged the ministry’s December 2025 order that had revoked more than 400 commitments issued under earlier German governments. In its judgment the Second Senate emphasised that although the executive enjoys broad discretion in admission programmes, it is “never completely free” in a constitutional state. Political room for manoeuvre ends where the fundamental rights of the persons concerned begin; authorities must therefore weigh humanitarian promises and the applicants’ security situation before refusing entry. The court sent the case back to the Higher Administrative Court so that the merits can be examined on an individual basis. Practically, the ruling forces the Interior Ministry to reopen hundreds of suspended files from the so-called “human-rights list” and the 2022-23 federal Afghan admission scheme. Lawyers predict that missions in Islamabad and Kabul’s neighbouring states will now need additional staffing and that Germany’s electronic Consular Services Portal will have to be adapted so that individual resettlement visas can be re-issued quickly. Employers sponsoring former local staff, NGOs assisting women’s-rights activists, and relocation providers should prepare for renewed document checks and short-notice travel bookings once approvals are reinstated. Politically, the verdict is a setback for Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, whose tougher migration stance had included negotiating deportations with the Taliban. Coalition partners in the Greens and FDP immediately called for a rapid restart of evacuations, warning that delays could expose applicants to persecution in Afghanistan or forced returns from Iran and Pakistan. For global-mobility managers the message is two-fold: Afghan beneficiaries with older German admission letters may again become travel-ready in the coming weeks, while new humanitarian caseloads will still require robust case-by-case documentation. Companies should liaise with visa suppliers to secure scarce appointments and factor longer pre-departure counselling into assignment timelines.
Source: ZDFheute
