Germany is offering Afghan asylum seekers €1,000 each to withdraw from its relocation programme—but only a small fraction have accepted the deal, highlighting Berlin’s struggle to curb arrivals.
“So far, 10% of those contacted, which corresponds to 62 people, have declared their willingness to accept the offer,” a spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of the Interior said.
The ministry confirmed ongoing contact with other asylum seekers who have not yet decided. Aid organizations, such as Kabul Airlift, reported that “a maximum of five families had accepted the offer to date to opt out of the admission programs in exchange for money.” The few Afghans who accepted the deal did so only because they were offered visas to other countries.
The small number of participants highlights the German government’s failure to manage migration. So far, five flights carrying Afghan migrants have arrived under the Merz administration from the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
Around 1,900 Afghan asylum seekers remain in Pakistan waiting to travel to Germany. The Pakistani government has granted Germany until the end of the year to complete their transfer. The resettlement initiative was originally launched by the previous leftist government which promised shelter to those awaiting relocation in Pakistan.
The Merz administration attempted to suspend the program, pointing to security risks and the possibility of misuse. However, legal challenges in Germany have allowed arrivals to continue.
Germany has seen similar results with Syrian nationals. Despite allocating more than €3 million for voluntary returns after Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow in 2024, only 289 Syrians have taken the offer, while more than 951,000 remained in the country as of August 2025. Security concerns have also persisted, with the number of Syrians classified as Islamist threats barely changing—55 today compared with 59 at the end of 2024.
