German court rules at-risk Afghan family must be given visas

08 July 2025, Berlin: Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) follows the speech by Lars Klingbeil (SPD), Federal Minister of Finance, in the Bundestag during the budget consultations on the introduction of the draft federal budget for 2025. AFPCaption

A German court ruled that the government must issue visas to an Afghan family previously accepted under a programme for those at risk on Tuesday, 08 July 2025, after the Taliban seized power in 2021.

The new government under conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz has frozen the programme, but Berlin's administrative court said the family had been given a "legally binding" commitment and must be allowed to travel to Germany.