The Federal Constitutional Court ruled that Germany could not arbitrarily suspend the admission programs for Afghans entirely. As the Karlsruhe judges announced on Friday, the individual circumstances of the affected foreign nationals must be considered through case-by-case decisions. This ruling favors an Afghan mother and her two minor sons who were intended for inclusion in the “Human Rights List” humanitarian intake program in Germany.
In 2025, the Federal Government decided to largely phase out voluntary intake programs. Subsequently, the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) declared in December 2025 that all admission applications from the “Human Rights List” were invalid. The subsequent rejection of the Afghan applicants’ visa requests led to a constitutional complaint, which has now succeeded.
The Constitutional Court overturned the decision made by the Higher Administrative Court, which had supported the denial of emergency claims. The Court emphasized that the executive branch within the rule of law is not absolute and must adhere to the prohibition against arbitrariness. Since the BMI’s declaration of invalidity was made without considering the personal circumstances of the complainants, it was deemed objectively arbitrary. The Higher Administrative Court must now re-examine whether there is a sufficient political interest in granting the admission, taking into account the standards set by the Constitutional Court.
