Germany offers temporary visas for earthquake victims

• Germany announced that earthquakes victims will be allowed to temporarily visa.
• With family in Germany, with standard visas being issued and valid for 3 months.
• The expedited and priority visas are intended to help those affected by the tragedy.

It has been announced that those impacted by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria would be permitted to temporarily reside with family in Germany.

“This is emergency aid,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told the Bild newspaper on Saturday. “We want to allow Turkish or Syrian families in Germany to bring their close relatives from the disaster area to their homes without bureaucracy.”

She said that standard visas will be used for this, and they would be quickly issued and valid for three months.

Unkomplizierte #Visa für Erdbebenopfer. Bundesinnenministerin Nancy #Faeser: “Es geht um Hilfe in der Not. Wir wollen ermöglichen, dass türkische oder syrische Familien in Deutschland enge Verwandte aus der Katastrophenregion unbürokratisch zu sich holen können.” pic.twitter.com/Rl76NAeAUL

— Bundesministerium des Innern und für Heimat (@BMI_Bund) February 11, 2023

[Translation: Uncomplicated #Visa for earthquake victims. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy #Faeser : “It’s about help in need. We want to make it possible for Turkish or Syrian families in Germany to be able to bring close relatives from the disaster region to them unbureaucratically.”]

The choice was made after the number of earthquake-related fatalities exceeded 29,000 on Sunday. Both nations have experienced mass displacement.

More than half of the 2.9 million persons of Turkish descent who call Germany home also have Turkish nationality.

Since former German Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the country’s borders to refugees in 2015 and 2016, the Syrian community, which is also sizable, has been estimated at 924,000.

In 2014, there were 118,000 Syrians living in Germany.

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“As the German government, we want to help ensure that families in Germany can temporarily take in relatives affected by the earthquake if they no longer have a roof over their heads or need medical treatment,” Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Twitter on Saturday.

Baerbock said the foreign and interior ministries had formed a “task force” to start the initiative.

“The aim is to make visa procedures as unbureaucratic as possible for those affected. We have increased staff at foreign missions in Turkey and reallocated capacities,” added Baerbock.

According to the dpa news agency, the expedited and priority visas are meant to help those who have been significantly impacted personally by the tragedy, such as those who may be in danger of losing their homes or who have sustained injuries that need medical attention.

Furthermore, it was said that the program is intended for victims who want to find asylum in Germany and stay with first- or second-degree relatives who are either German citizens or who have a permanent residency status.

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