The Kabul Tribune (AP) — Germany is close to reaching an agreement with Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers that would allow mass deportations of Afghan nationals, marking a major shift in Berlin’s migration policy, German media reported Sunday.
According to the newspaper BILD, the Interior Ministry led
by Alexander Dobrindt is preparing to scale up deportations significantly,
making them easier, more frequent and larger in scope. Instead of relying
solely on chartered planes, Afghan citizens would be sent back on scheduled
flights.
Talks are already underway. Earlier this month, a German
delegation from the Interior Ministry met Taliban representatives in Qatar to
discuss establishing a formal deportation mechanism. Officials are now
preparing to send German representatives to Kabul to continue negotiations,
with Qatar mediating.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, only two
deportation flights have left Germany for Afghanistan — 28 people in late 2024
and 81 in July 2025, all classified as serious criminals. But between 2015 and
2024, German police recorded more than 108,000 serious crimes involving at
least one Afghan suspect, according to federal crime statistics.
Roughly 461,000 people of Afghan origin lived in Germany at
the end of 2024, including 347,600 asylum seekers. Officials estimate around
11,500 Afghans in the country are subject to deportation orders.
The government argues that deporting criminal Afghans without
legal residency is necessary, but says the current practice of expelling only
small groups on chartered flights cannot sustain a large-scale effort.
