Status: 02/10/2023 4:01 p.m
After the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, many relatives in Germany want to take in survivors of the earthquake disaster. The federal government is now looking for “solutions that are as unbureaucratic as possible”.
The federal government is examining ways to make it easier for survivors of the earthquake disaster in Turkey and Syria to enter Germany. The desire to take in relatives, at least in the short term, is understandable, said a spokeswoman for the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin.
Search for “pragmatic solution”
They are currently working closely with the Federal Ministry of the Interior “to enable a pragmatic solution to be found very quickly in these cases”. Because many members of the Turkish community in Germany wanted to temporarily take in affected relatives. However, as nationals of third countries, those affected need a visa to enter the Schengen area.
According to the spokeswoman, however, she cannot offer visa facilitation. There are quite a few aspects to consider, such as whether those affected still have a passport and how they can get a visa. A spokesman for the interior ministry also said that the two departments were in talks for “solutions that were as unbureaucratic as possible”.
Entry into Turkey and Syria is also made more difficult
Meanwhile, the German Lawyers’ Association pointed out that traveling in the other direction was also a problem for some. As the association informed the Evangelical Press Service, a large number of cases have become known in the past few days in which people are currently unable to travel to help relatives or attend funerals due to expired residence permits.
There are probably hundreds of cases. The association called for emergency care in the German immigration authorities in order to enable Turks living in Germany to travel to their homeland.
Appointments should not expire
The following applies to applicants from the earthquake area: According to the Federal Foreign Office, confirmed appointments from the visa application center in Gaziantep do not expire. The center itself was affected by the earthquake. Other centers are available in Turkey to submit applications.
In view of the closure of the embassy in Damascus, applicants from Syria could continue to contact the representations in Beirut, Jordan or Istanbul, for example.