Over 11,000 Afghans Required to Leave Germany

Over 11,000 Afghans Required to Leave Germany

According to Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), as of May 1, 2025, approximately 11,423 Afghan nationals are obligated to leave Germany. Among them, 9,602 hold a “Duldung” (toleration permit), and 1,821 have no legal residence status.

The Duldung is a temporary suspension of deportation issued to individuals whose asylum claims have been rejected but who cannot be deported immediately due to specific circumstances. Despite this, they remain legally obliged to leave the country.

The German government is prioritizing the deportation of Afghan asylum seekers who have committed crimes or are considered security threats. However, BAMF did not provide data on how many of these individuals fall into those categories.

Alexander Dobrindt, Germany’s Federal Minister of the Interior, has called for direct negotiations with the Taliban to facilitate the repatriation process. He stated in an interview with Focus magazine: “My view is that we must reach direct agreements with Afghanistan to make returns possible.”

Dobrindt criticized the current policy of engaging with the Taliban only through third-party intermediaries and insisted that this must change. It should be noted that the Taliban regime is only officially recognized by Russia and remains heavily criticized internationally for human rights abuses, particularly against women and girls.

Representatives from the Social Democrats and Green parties have voiced opposition to direct cooperation with the Taliban and criticized the Interior Minister’s proposal.

Afghanistan remains one of the poorest countries in the world and has experienced decades of war and instability. Since the Taliban took control in August 2021, the country has faced multiple overlapping political, economic, and humanitarian crises.