Germany facilitates granting 3-month visas to earthquake-affected people in Syria and Türkiye
The German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced on Saturday that Berlin will facilitate the granting of three-month entry visas to Syrians and Turks affected by the earthquake, if they have families in the European country.
“It’s an emergency aid, and we want to allow Turkish and Syrian families in Germany to bring their relatives from the affected area without red tape”, Faeser told Bild newspaper.
Speaking about this joint initiative between the Ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs, the minister added that residents of the areas affected by the earthquake that claimed more than 25,000 lives can obtain regular visas, delivered quickly and valid for three months.
This simplified mechanism allows those affected to find shelter and receive medical treatment in Germany.
About 2.9 million people of Turkish origin live in Germany, more than half of them (1.5 million) have Turkish citizenship.
Germany also has a large number of Syrian refugees, especially since former Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to open the borders in 2015 and 2016.
According to the German Ministry for Migration and Refugees, around 924,000 Syrians are currently living in Germany, up from around 118,000 at the end of 2014.
The conditions for obtaining a visa for any person residing in Türkiye or Syria through a relative residing in Germany are as follows:
- A valid passport for the person who wants to come to Germany.
- A financial account statement and reasons confirming that he/she will return to his/her country after the end of the visit.
- As for the person making the invitation in Germany, the following conditions must be me:
- Employment contract: An income of at least 2,300 Euros net after taxes if he/she is single, and if he/she is married, an income of at least 3,000 Euros.
- A place of residence for the person whom the resident in Germany wishes to invite.
- A bank account statement and health insurance payment for the person coming from Syria or Türkiye.
- Round-trip airline ticket.
- A written undertaking not to submit an asylum application.
The resident in Germany submits a written undertaking to the Foreigners Department and the embassy to commit to all the financial costs of the person coming to visit him in Germany.
Submitting papers to the Foreigners Department after booking an appointment from the embassy, whether it’s in Beirut or Ankara.
The period for studying the application ranges from 6 weeks to 6 months.
For your information, most of the Syrian refugees residing in Germany previously tried to bring their relatives, but their attempts failed.
The local government in the state of Berlin took a different stance from the rest of the German cities.
According to the berlin.de website of the local government in the state of Berlin, it was approved by the Senate in Berlin to expedite bringing Syrians to their relatives without submitting papers or approval from the Foreigners Department.
“I’m happy that we were able to provide support in this exceptional humanitarian situation with regard to issuing visas to Syrians and Turks, and I hope that missions abroad will quickly take the necessary measures to issue visas,” Iris Spranger, member of the Senate for Internal Affairs, Digitization and Sports in Berlin said.
People who were in one of the affected areas at the time of the earthquake and their close family members who are German citizens or have German residency and live in Berlin, as Berlin doesn’t require proof of language skills when applying for a visa so that it can help as many affected people as possible in as soon as possible.
