Kimia fled Afghanistan in 2024 after being accepted on to a German humanitarian admission program aimed at Afghans considered at risk under the Taliban. A year later, Kimia is stuck in limbo.

Islamabad

Afghan refugees who were accepted into Germany's humanitarian admission program are facing prolonged uncertainty after the program was suspended following a change in government. Many, like Kimia, a visual artist and women's rights advocate, remain in Pakistan without clear information about their future or the status of their applications. 

The program, which began in 2022 and aimed to admit up to 1,000 at-risk Afghans per month, has admitted fewer than 1,600 people in over two years due to administrative delays and flight cancellations. With the new German government intending to close the program, around 2,400 Afghans are left waiting, and the government has not clarified how long the suspension will last or how many interviews have been cancelled.

Afghan refugees stuck in Pakistan as Germany halts entry program

In a guesthouse in Pakistan's capital, 25-year-old Kimia spends her days sketching women. Kimia is a visual artist and women's rights advocate who fled Afghanistan in 2024 after being accepted onto a German humanitarian admission program for Afghans considered at risk under the Taliban. However, a year later in Islamabad, Kimia remains stuck in limbo. Her interview at the German embassy was abruptly cancelled in April, and she says returning to Afghanistan is unthinkable. We don't have any update, so we're scared that if they don't accept us or if they reject us, so we must go to Afghanistan. And it's hard for all of us because the situation of Afghanistan for girls and women is too much hard. The German humanitarian admission program began in October 2022. It intended to accept up to 1,000 Afghans per month who were deemed at risk because of their work in human rights, justice, politics or education, or due to their gender, religion or sexual orientation. But fewer than 1,600 arrived in over two years due to hold-ups and the cancellation of flights. Following an election in February 2025, a change of government resulted in the gradual suspension of the program. Now, the new center-right coalition intends to close it. Around 2,400 Afghans are waiting to travel to Germany, according to the foreign ministry. While the ministry says the government will care for those and house those already in the program, it did not answer Reuters' questions on the number of cancelled interviews or how long the suspension would last. Mohammad Mojib Rezaei, a refugee, flew to Germany from Cyprus in March under a European Union voluntary solidarity mechanism. Two weeks after seeking asylum in Berlin, his application was rejected. I feel really exhausted because I've been waiting to get a status since 2022 because I came to Cyprus, and that's one of the European Union countries. And since that time, I don't have any specific status or a residence permit or work permit to be a citizen. Rezaei is stuck in a similar situation to Kimia and says returning to Afghanistan is not an option.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv will do "anything" to advance EU accession talks. Zelenskyy spoke alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, President of the European Council António Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

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Washington

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Gilimanuk

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Iran Strikes

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