Local Staff and Other Refugees from Afghanistan in Germany

Conditions for a Successful Reception

Migration Department

Project head: Dr. Ramona Rischke,  Dr. Zeynep Yanaşmayan

Project coordination: Dr. Lukas M. Fuchs

Running time October 2023 until January 2024
Status Completed project

The project analyzes the admission and integration conditions for Afghan refugees who came to Germany after the Taliban's rise to power in 2021, analyzing existing admission programs and their effectiveness. It combines a systematic assessment and analysis of government admission programs to derive recommendations for more sustainable reception and integration strategies. 

Guiding research questions

What information is already available about the situation of Afghans in Germany? Which factors that facilitate and impede integration are relevant here?
What conclusions and research needs on the integration of Afghans and their family members arriving since the takeover can be derived from this?
What conclusions can we draw for the Federal Admission Program (BAP) from previous experiences with the Local staff program and the bridging program?
The initial idea behind the federal admission program for Afghanistan was ambitious. However, over bureaucratisation, a lack of trust from the authorities in both applicants and NGOs, and structural barriers meant that ultimately far fewer people were admitted than promised. Most were left behind.
Dr. Lukas M. Fuchs

Against the backdrop of the long-standing immigration of Afghan refugees to Germany on the one hand, and the new admission programs for refugees and local staff created in response to the Taliban's rise to power on the other, this short project focused on the reception of Afghans in Germany who arrived after the Taliban's takeover in 2021 and the living situations of Afghans in Germany who arrived before. 

The project relies on an analysis of three different data sources:

  1. in-depth narrative interviews conducted with Afghan individuals evacuated to Germany in 2021 and 2022,
  2. stakeholder interviews with actors/NGOs involved in the implementation of the program,
  3. public policy documents, government declarations, and official statistics. 

The lack of a scientific analysis of the effectiveness and implementation of new German admission programs after 2021 (especially the FAP).

  • Draw conclusions from previous admission programs (local staff procedures, bridging programs) for the federal admission program. 
  • Develop recommendations for a more sustainable design of humanitarian admission and integration measures using a participatory, community-based approach. 

  • Comparison of Programs Analysis of the structure, implementation, and challenges of the local staff program, the bridging program, and the Federal Admission Program (FAP), including an international comparative perspective. 
  • Empirical Data Collection: Qualitative interviews with Afghan evacuees, NGOs, and other relevant stakeholders. 
  • Participatory Approach: Involvement of Afghan diaspora organizations to identify practical needs and integration potential. 

From a public policy perspective, the German reception programs for Afghans are indicative of an ever-decreasing political will to admit refugees and to comply with existing admission commitments. Diffusion of responsibility, administrative opacity, and overly complex structures have led to unequal access to opportunities and a low number of admitted Afghans at risk.

It is essential to keep humanitarian corridors open and reliable.

Funding: Federal Foreign Office (Third-party funding)

Cooperation partner:

Dr. Özgür Özvatan (PI, BIM, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)