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The German Federal Conference of Migrant Organizations (BKMO) has said that even though the decision of the government to ease the visa rules for Turkish and Syrian earthquake victims is well-intentioned, it is not practical.
According to BKMO, there are many barriers earthquake victims encounter when planning to reach Germany and stay with their relatives temporarily, with the main one being the requirement to hold their passports with them, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Mamad Mohamad from BKMO argues that many nationals of Türkiye and Syria affected by the earthquake may fail to travel to their relatives in Germany as they “didn’t have their passport in their pyjamas” when they got hit by the earthquake.
Moreover, it was pointed out that another obstacle for the earthquake victims is the requirement to provide proof that they live in the area that got hit by the earthquake.
Commenting on this particular requirement, the Federal Foreign Office said that the authorities could not facilitate the restrictions any further and, at the same time, pointed out that the requirements have been reduced to a minimum.
The current rules that earthquake victims have to meet in order to be permitted entry to Germany to stay with their relatives were supported by the Minister of Interior of Germany, Nancy Faeser, who said that the country had eased the rules as much as it could.
Apart from having to present their passport and proof of their address, earthquake victims from Türkiye and Syria who plan to enter Germany to stay with their relatives must also prove that they are close relatives.
Regarding the relatives of earthquake victims who live in Germany, the authorities have stressed that they are responsible for covering the living expenses of the earthquake victims. This represents yet another problem, according to Mohamad.
Germany decided last week to ease the visa rules for all Turkish and Syrian earthquake victims. Data provided by the German Foreign Office show that the country issued a total of 15 visas by the end of last week to nationals of Türkiye affected by the earthquake.
As for nationals of Syria, the authorities said that it is almost impossible for them to get a visa since there is no embassy of Germany in Syria.
Similar to Germany, some other EU countries have also eased the visa requirements for nationals of Türkiye and Syria. Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands are the other countries that have said they will facilitate visa rules for earthquake victims who have relatives in the country. They have also decided to deploy additional staff to Türkiye to accelerate the visa processing time.
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