On August 15, 2021, the Taliban retook Kabul, ending two decades of Western military presence in Afghanistan. Within days, the German government made a clear public promise: every Afghan national who had worked alongside German institutions — as interpreters, drivers, security personnel, or administrative staff — would be brought to safety in Germany. Four years later, thousands of those people, along with their families, are still waiting — some in Afghanistan, many more in Pakistan. For Afghan nationals already living in Germany, and for anyone watching Germany's humanitarian track record, this story matters deeply.
Following the chaotic Kabul evacuation, the German government committed to a structured programme to resettle Afghan local staff (known as Ortskräfte) who had supported the Bundeswehr, German development agencies, and diplomatic missions. The promise extended to their immediate family members. Officials spoke of tens of thousands of eligible individuals. Emergency visas were announced, and a dedicated processing pipeline at the Federal Foreign Office was set up.
At the time, the commitment was framed not just as a legal obligation but as a moral one: these individuals had risked their lives working alongside German institutions, and abandoning them was described by politicians across party lines as unacceptable.
The gap between promise and delivery has been stark. Bureaucratic bottlenecks at German embassies — many of which closed in Afghanistan — created immediate obstacles. Processing applications from Pakistan, where many evacuees fled, proved slow and inconsistent. Capacity limits at reception centres in Germany, political pressure to reduce migration numbers, and the complexity of verifying employment records for people fleeing a collapsed state all compounded the problem.
Human rights organisations and journalists have documented cases of eligible individuals whose applications sat unprocessed for years, whose family members were excluded on technicalities, or who received no communication at all from German authorities. Some have died waiting. Others have been deported from Pakistan back toward the Afghan border.
The shift in Germany's domestic political climate — with stricter migration rhetoric gaining ground ahead of and following the 2025 federal election — has added further uncertainty for those still in the pipeline.
For Afghan nationals currently living in Germany, this ongoing situation has several practical dimensions. Those with family members still waiting abroad face prolonged separation and uncertainty about family reunification timelines. The legal status of Afghan asylum seekers in Germany has also come under periodic review as the political situation in Afghanistan evolves — though the Taliban's rule is widely recognised as making return unsafe.
Afghans in Germany are encouraged to maintain up-to-date documentation of their status, keep contact with their Ausländerbehörde, and consult recognised refugee legal aid organisations if their Aufenthaltstitel is due for renewal or if they have family reunification cases pending.
Several parliamentary inquiries and NGO reports have called on the German government to publish full, transparent data on how many eligible Ortskräfte have been admitted, how many applications remain open, and what the current processing timelines are. Advocacy groups such as Kabul Luftbrücke and Pro Asyl continue to pressure Berlin for concrete answers.
For those still waiting outside Germany, the advice from legal aid organisations is consistent: maintain all documentation of employment with German institutions, keep records of any correspondence with German authorities, and register with UNHCR in Pakistan if not already done.
In principle, the resettlement programme for Afghan Ortskräfte remains open, but processing is slow and eligibility criteria are applied strictly. Applicants need verifiable documentation of employment with German institutions. The Federal Foreign Office handles these cases, and legal support from organisations like Pro Asyl or a specialist immigration lawyer is strongly recommended.
Afghan nationals in Germany generally receive protection status given the security situation under Taliban rule. However, individual cases vary, and status reviews do occur. Anyone whose asylum decision or Aufenthaltstitel is under review should seek legal advice promptly and not wait for a deadline to pass.
Contact the German embassy in Islamabad (currently handling Afghan cases) in writing, document all previous correspondence, and reach out to organisations such as Kabul Luftbrücke or the Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker, which track individual cases and can sometimes escalate stalled files.
Germany's unfulfilled promises to Afghan local staff represent one of the most painful accountability gaps in recent German immigration history. For Afghan nationals in Germany and their families abroad, the situation remains urgent and unresolved. The most important steps right now are to stay legally informed, maintain all documentation, and connect with specialist legal aid organisations rather than navigating the process alone. The promise has not expired — but pursuing it requires persistence.
Source: DW English
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