Federal Constitutional Court overturns blanket admission stop for Afghans
Karlsruhe, July 24, 2026
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Summary
The Federal Constitutional Court has overturned the federal government's blanket admission stop for at-risk Afghans. The Karlsruhe judges ruled that the admission of persons in need of protection from the programs must be continued.
Karlsruhe, July 24, 2026
The Federal Constitutional Court has classified the blanket admission stop imposed by the federal government for at-risk Afghans as impermissible arbitrariness and has provisionally allowed an Afghan woman with two children to enter Germany.
Ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court
The decision of the Federal Constitutional Court (Az. 2 BvR 319/26), published on July 24, 2026, found in favor of an Afghan woman with two children who had sued the federal government. She had been promised admission to Germany in December 2021, a few months after the Taliban's renewed seizure of power in Afghanistan. In May 2025, however, the black-red federal government had initially suspended the admission programs; in December 2025, the Federal Ministry of the Interior withdrew all admission promises for Afghan protection seekers from the bridging program and the so-called Human Rights List and declared that there was no longer any political interest in admission.
The plaintiff is staying in the city of Peshawar in northern Pakistan and has been waiting for years to enter the country. According to the ruling, this declaration of withdrawal by the Interior Ministry "does not meet the requirements of the prohibition of arbitrariness." "When I learned that there is hope for my family, I was very happy," the plaintiff told the German Press Agency. "Today I am truly happy – I can hardly describe how relieved I am."
Background of the admission program
Even if the government has wide political discretion regarding the admission of foreigners, in a state governed by the rule of law it is "never 'completely free,'" the ruling states. "The interests of the affected person must then be taken into account in the further exercise of political discretion," the Karlsruhe judges made clear.
The background to the proceedings is the admission program for Afghans created in 2021 under then-Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), who had worked for the German troops or for democracy and the rule of law during the international military deployment. Those affected are primarily families and single women with children who live in accommodations of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Pakistan and wait there for their entry.
Obligation to continue aid
Specifically, the case concerned the now-discontinued admission program "Human Rights List." The court obliges the government to continue supporting the woman and her children in Pakistan until a visa is issued or a constitutionally compliant declaration of withdrawal is made by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg must now "have to assume" that Germany is constitutionally obliged to continue the aid.
The Society for Civil Liberties (GFF), which had supported the lawsuit with a model constitutional complaint, spoke of a success with far-reaching significance. According to GFF, the proceedings are one of a total of 31 constitutional complaints filed with the help of the model complaint. The decision could "turn for better or worse" the fate of around 400 other Afghans, the association announced in advance.
Assessment by the Society for Civil Liberties
In the event of a negative ruling, those affected would have faced deportation to Afghanistan and thus imprisonment, torture and death, according to GFF's assessment. "In the event of a negative ruling, they face deportation to Afghanistan and thus imprisonment, torture and death," GFF stated. The Islamist Taliban had seized power again in Afghanistan in August 2021 after the withdrawal of international troops. According to the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, almost 3.9 million people have since returned to Afghanistan from neighboring countries Iran and Pakistan alone.
According to the UN, the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is devastating: At least 3.7 million toddlers are considered acutely malnourished, more than 90 percent of returnees live on less than five US dollars a day. Pakistani authorities have been intensifying the repatriation of Afghan nationals since September 2023.
Humanitarian situation in Afghanistan
The plaintiff expressed relief after the decision: "It was a very long, desperate wait," she said. "There were so many moments when I cried out of desperation," said the woman, who must remain anonymous for security reasons.
The black-red federal government had initially suspended the admission programs in May 2025. In December 2025, the Federal Ministry of the Interior declared that there was no longer any political interest in admission. The Karlsruhe judges have now rejected this reasoning as insufficient—without fundamentally calling into question the government's political decision-making discretion.
Outlook on further proceedings
Observers rate the ruling as a signal for the ongoing proceedings before the Federal Constitutional Court. According to the association, 31 further proceedings are pending with GFF's model constitutional complaint that have a comparable fate to the case now decided. Even if the outcome of the remaining proceedings is open, according to legal experts, the decision creates a clear benchmark for the government's line.
The reaction from the federal government was still pending at the editorial deadline. The Federal Ministry of the Interior did not initially comment on the specific requirements of the ruling. A statement was expected in the coming days. Nor was anything initially known about the timing of a possible entry of the plaintiff and her children.
Human rights organizations see the ruling as a fundamental victory for the rule of law. The ruling strengthens the executive's adherence to the principles of the rule of law and is, last but not least, a signal to all those in need of protection who have relied on promised admission programs. One thing is clear: The full judicial review of the events surrounding the end of the admission programs will continue to occupy the courts.
Questions & Answers
What is the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court about?
The Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that the federal government was not permitted to discontinue the admission programs for Afghan protection seekers across the board. The withdrawal of admission promises by the Interior Ministry in December 2025 is incompatible with the prohibition of arbitrariness under the Basic Law.
Who is affected by the ruling?
An anonymous Afghan woman and her two children, who were promised admission to Germany in December 2021, benefit directly. According to the Society for Civil Liberties (GFF), around 400 other Afghans are directly affected.
Which admission programs were stopped?
In May 2025, the black-red federal government stopped both the bridging program and the so-called Human Rights List, a program for particularly at-risk Afghan nationals, and later revoked existing promises.
