Germany’s Federal Interior Ministry said on Friday it will “act promptly” after the Federal Constitutional Court took the unusual step of directly ordering the government to issue a decision on the visa applications of an Afghan former judge and his family, who have been stranded in Pakistan for months.
The judge had worked in Afghanistan’s anti-terror courts and handed down sentences against Taliban members. When the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, he fled with his wife and three children to Islamabad, where they have lived in legal limbo ever since. Berlin had already admitted the family to its relocation programme for Afghans at risk, but processing under that scheme was frozen earlier this year amid domestic political pressure to curb irregular migration. Roughly 2 000 other approved Afghans remain stuck in Pakistan for the same reason.
![Germany ordered to decide Afghan judge’s long-delayed relocation visa “without further delay”]()
On Thursday evening the Constitutional Court invoked its emergency powers, stating that the threat of deportation from Pakistan back to Afghanistan put the family’s lives in imminent danger and that “there are no sufficient grounds for delaying the visa proceedings.” It bypassed lower courts and gave the government a firm deadline to issue a decision, citing the family’s “exceptional urgency.”
Legal analysts say the ruling is a sharp reminder that humanitarian commitments survive changes in immigration policy. Practically, it means the Interior Ministry must now instruct German consular staff in Islamabad to finalise the visas, arrange travel, and coordinate reception in Germany—steps that normally take months—within days.
For multinational employers, the case underscores that court-imposed deadlines can suddenly accelerate stalled humanitarian or special-interest visa files. Companies sponsoring at-risk Afghan employees or contractors should monitor similar cases, as they may open ad-hoc windows for long-pending applications to move forward.
The judge had worked in Afghanistan’s anti-terror courts and handed down sentences against Taliban members. When the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, he fled with his wife and three children to Islamabad, where they have lived in legal limbo ever since. Berlin had already admitted the family to its relocation programme for Afghans at risk, but processing under that scheme was frozen earlier this year amid domestic political pressure to curb irregular migration. Roughly 2 000 other approved Afghans remain stuck in Pakistan for the same reason.
On Thursday evening the Constitutional Court invoked its emergency powers, stating that the threat of deportation from Pakistan back to Afghanistan put the family’s lives in imminent danger and that “there are no sufficient grounds for delaying the visa proceedings.” It bypassed lower courts and gave the government a firm deadline to issue a decision, citing the family’s “exceptional urgency.”
Legal analysts say the ruling is a sharp reminder that humanitarian commitments survive changes in immigration policy. Practically, it means the Interior Ministry must now instruct German consular staff in Islamabad to finalise the visas, arrange travel, and coordinate reception in Germany—steps that normally take months—within days.
For multinational employers, the case underscores that court-imposed deadlines can suddenly accelerate stalled humanitarian or special-interest visa files. Companies sponsoring at-risk Afghan employees or contractors should monitor similar cases, as they may open ad-hoc windows for long-pending applications to move forward.
