Germany: Afghans temporarily in Ramstein military base

Afghans who will arrive on special flights will be housed in US facilities in Germany for a limited time - until their immigration procedures are completed, it says. Deutsche says. A spokesman for the US Consulate General in Frankfurt am Main confirmed this to the German public broadcaster SWR.

Spiegel magazine first reported that Afghans who worked for the U.S. military during the country's 20-year war in the Hindu Kush and are allowed to immigrate to the U.S. will be flown from Kabul to Ramstein, a U.S.-NATO air base in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. .

Ramstein Air Force Base is part of the US "Kaiserslautern Military Community", where more than 54.000 military personnel and more than 5.400 US civilian employees live and work. More than 6.200 German workers are employed in that complex.

The plan is for the Afghans to stay in Germany for up to a month

The Afghans, who have already been vetted, will be housed at the US Army barracks in Kaiserslautern. The US Consulate General in Frankfurt am Main will issue them "special immigrant visas" for onward travel to the US.

The spokesperson of the US consulate confirmed for the German public service SWR that a group of Afghans arrived in Germany at the beginning of December, where they are waiting to travel to the USA. As Spiegel reported, it was a test transport of 200 Afghans.

According to the spokesperson, the US administration generally processes these cases as quickly as possible and aims to complete the processing of these cases in Germany in less than 30 days. For now, there is no information on how many Afghans will be transferred to the USA via Germany, nor when the transport will begin.

18.000 US visas for Afghans

From the beginning of October 2022 to the end of September 2023, the US government issued more than 18.000 special immigrant visas to Afghan citizens. Germany is one of several locations around the world where Afghan visa applicants and their family members go through the US visa process.

Since the Afghan Taliban captured the Afghan capital of Kabul in mid-August 2021, the US has transferred tens of thousands of its Afghan collaborators through Ramstein. This operation is considered one of the largest humanitarian airlifts in US history.

Thousands of Afghans are waiting to enter Germany

The question of the future of many Afghans who worked for Germany remains open. In October 2022, the German government established a special program for the reception of former German personnel from Afghanistan.

Just a few days ago, 188 Afghans were flown from Pakistan to Leipzig with confirmation from Germany that they would be accepted in this country.

According to the data of the government in Berlin, at the end of November, around 11.500 people from Afghanistan, who received confirmation of acceptance to the Federal Republic of Germany, were waiting to start their journey. However, the German government's program stipulates that Afghans first travel to neighboring Pakistan so that the German embassy there can complete security checks and visa formalities.