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

Project team members: Yalda Bari

In light of the long-standing immigration of Afghan refugees to Germany on the one hand, and the new reception programs for refugees and local workers created in response to the Taliban's seizure of power on the other, this short study adresses the reception and integration conditions of Afghans in Germany who came to Germany after the Taliban came to power in 2021. The following research questions will be addressed in the course of the project:

A) What relevant information is already available about the situation of Afghans in Germany and factors that support and obstruct integration? What conclusions and research needs on the integration of Afghans and their family members arriving since the takeover can be derived from this?

B) How can existing networks and Afghan diaspora organizations be incorporated into the efficient organization of the new intake?

C) What conclusions can we draw for the Federal Admission Program (BAP) from previous experiences with the Ortskräfteverfahren and the Überbrückungsprogramm (including their hurdles and including a cursory comparison with other admission programs)?

Furthermore, the project will serve to prepare a prospective scientific monitoring of the Federal Admission Program (BAP) and the arrival and integration processes of those admitted through it. Such further scientific monitoring would offer the opportunity to examine the impact and effectiveness of the Federal Government's admission programs in an international comparison with admission programs of allied countries (e.g. the United States, Canada or Great Britain) and thus generate fundamental insights into humanitarian admission programs. The international comparative approach would be useful regarding an understanding of pre-integration measures that can be embedded in admission programs and could contribute to the sustainability of the design of admission and integration. A participatory approach is envisaged here, incorporating the community-based expertise of Afghan diaspora organizations for the efficient social integration of new arrivals in Germany.

Funding: Federal Foreign Office (Third-party funding)

Cooperation partner:

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