Frequently asked questions

What would you like to know?

Here you will find a list of frequently asked questions and our answers to them.

What does Kabulluftbruecke do exactly?

The German government has promised to evacuate people in need of protection from Afghanistan. Unfortunately, it is currently overwhelmed with delivering on its promise. We as Kabul Luftbrücke do not want to simply stand by and watch this government failure, but want to help. However, our options are limited: We can only help a few people to evacuate and they must either be citizens, have a residence permit or a written acceptance from the federal government to do so. Nevertheless, we want to advise and support as many people as possible to flee Afghanistan legally and safely. At the moment, we are building better structures for this.

Can you help me or others to get from Afghanistan to Germany?

First and foremost, this is the task of the federal government. At the moment we can only evacuate a few people who have a written acceptance by the Federal Government, who are German citizens or have a German residence permit. Unfortunately, it is currently very difficult to obtain such a commitment at short notice, as the Federal Government lacks the political will to do so. We are politically committed to ensuring that more people are granted admission, but in individual cases we do not have the means to obtain this ourselves.

Even if we are unfortunately unable to evacuate you or the people you support at the moment, please let us know about your case by sending an email to cases@luftbruecke.lnob.net. We will inform and advise you within the scope of our possibilities. Please note, however,

Please note, however, that we cannot respond to all enquiries promptly,
that we do not decide on the acceptance of applications, and
that we have no influence on decisions made by the authorities.

Please also refrain from one-sided enquiries or repeated requests, as these can only delay our work and not speed it up.

Where can I apply for an admission permit for protection seekers?

This is regulated differently for members of different groups:

German citizens and holders of German residence permits: They do not need an acceptance letter, can be evacuated by us, book their own flight and contact the Federal Foreign Office or the German embassies in Tehran, Islamabad or elsewhere directly.
Former local staff of German organisations: The (former) employing organisation can theoretically obtain an admission commitment via the Federal Ministry of the Interior. At present, however, due to the high number of enquiries, a waiting period of several weeks is to be expected.
Spouses, children and parents of persons living in Germany: In this case, an admission commitment within the framework of family reunification via the IOM can be considered: https://germany.iom.int/de/familienzusammenfuehrung. However, the process also runs through the Federal Ministry of the Interior, which is why a waiting period of several weeks can probably be expected.
Other particularly vulnerable persons: The corresponding admission programme of the Federal Government was closed at the end of August; the approximately 2,600 persons identified as particularly vulnerable and their relatives are currently being notified via an external service provider in order to issue them with a written admission commitment. The Federal Government is no longer accepting any further requests for humanitarian admission for particularly vulnerable people from Afghanistan.

Other protection seekers without special vulnerability: No admission programme of the Federal Government, but one can still contact other organisations. If there is no admission commitment from the Federal Government or is not expected in the near future, it may be useful to check the possibilities for an admission commitment or a visa from other states.

Why doesn't the government do all that?

We are asking ourselves the same question, but we are not waiting for the answer, we are already getting started. We are working with the relevant government agencies on this. However, a lack of political will and highly bureaucratised procedures of the German bureaucracy prevent a certain flexibility that we seem to be more able to guarantee.

What do you do with the donated money?

Unless a specific donation purpose is defined, we use all donations to evacuate people at risk from Afghanistan. If at some point this is no longer reasonably possible, we will use it elsewhere as effectively as possible for humanitarian aid and people on the run.