A German-Palestinian couple from Berlin has taken legal action against the Federal Foreign Office to compel the state to facilitate the wife’s departure from the Gaza Strip. The dispute stems from the inability to obtain a visa necessary for her to apply for family reunification in Germany.
The Palestinian spouse has been stranded in Gaza since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. To initiate the family reunification process, she must leave Gaza and travel to Cairo, where she is required to submit a personal application to the German embassy. For the last two and a half years, Germany has allegedly failed to provide the necessary assistance for her to travel to Egypt. The couple is now pursuing a lawsuit against the Foreign Office, with a date for the hearing at the Berlin Administrative Court yet to be set.
The Foreign Office maintains that, under the Consular Law, the evacuation of non-German citizens from crisis areas is not provided for. In response to an inquiry, the ministry stated that “all exits from Gaza require appropriate exit permits from Israeli authorities.”
According to Israeli officials, they do not obstruct family reunification to Germany. They only require a formal commitment from Germany to issue the necessary visa. A spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy in Berlin confirmed that the relevant authority, COGAT (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories), “enables and facilitates. the exit of Gaza residents via Israel into receiving countries worldwide.” This process, however, requires an “official request from a host country” and a security check. The spokesperson further noted that to date, no European country, including Germany, has submitted an official request for the evacuation of a Gaza resident to apply for a visa.
The Foreign Office’s position has drawn criticism from the foreign policy spokespersons of the Left and Green parliamentary groups. Clara Bünger of the Left argued that the German state must ensure family reunification in Germany in a “quick and unbureaucratic” manner, stating that the Foreign Office’s current procedures are severely inconveniencing those affected. Luise Amtsberg, a Green foreign policy politician, echoed this critique, decrying the “bureaucratic rigidity” of the Foreign Office and calling for negotiations with both Israel and Egypt to resolve such cases.
The CDU/CSU parliamentary group, represented by Jürgen Hardt, declined to comment on ongoing legal proceedings, while the SPD initially provided no statement. Conversely, the AfD supports the Foreign Office’s current stance. Their foreign policy spokesman, Markus Frohnmeier, told the RBB that the ministry is acting correctly, adding that the fundamental right to family reunification must be “adjusted and flexibilized” to control “mass migration.”
