A media report indicates that Berlin is anticipated to dispatch a delegation from its Interior Ministry to Kabul to discuss a mechanism for the deportation of Afghan nationals.
According to the tabloid Bild, Berlin is developing an agreement to establish a system for returning Afghans to their native country. The media outlet states that German officials are engaged in direct discussions with the Taliban in Qatar and intend to send a delegation to Kabul.
Germany had implemented a moratorium on deportations to Afghanistan in 2021, coinciding with the Taliban’s takeover following a swift US pullout. This ban was rescinded last year, though deportations continued to be infrequent. Bild reported that Berlin repatriated 28 Afghans via a charter flight in late August 2024 and an additional 81 on another flight in July 2025, all of whom were convicted offenders.
The report indicates that the government’s current objective is to render deportations “significantly easier, more regular, and more massive.” Furthermore, there is an intention to transition from charter flights to scheduled commercial services for these repatriations. Bild has ascertained that a German Interior Ministry delegation convened with Taliban representatives in Qatar in early September. The media outlet also notes the ministry’s plan to dispatch officials to Kabul for subsequent discussions.
As of yet, German officials have neither corroborated any official engagements with the interim Taliban government nor offered any commentary on the report.
The reversal of the deportation ban followed a fatal stabbing incident at a street festival in Solingen in August 2024, which resulted in three deaths and eight injuries. A Syrian national was apprehended in relation to this event.
Bild further reports that Afghans are implicated in a substantial volume of criminal activity within Germany. Government data obtained by the media outlet indicates that police documented 108,409 serious crimes involving at least one Afghan national between 2015 and 2024.
As of late 2024, approximately 461,000 individuals of Afghan heritage resided in Germany, among whom 347,600 were asylum seekers, Bild detailed. Additionally, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) disclosed this summer that around 11,500 Afghans currently living in Germany lacked legal residency status and were thus liable for deportation.