The German government has clarified the rules for issuing visas to cheaters
The German government has clarified the issue of granting a German visa to citizens of Russia and Belarus who desert or flee military service. The government’s response to the relevant Left Party request has been published on the Bundestag website on Wednesday, May 10th.
According to the clarification, evasion of military service, unwillingness to perform military service or desertion are not, in themselves, sufficient grounds for obtaining permission to enter Germany. However, Germany grants entry permits to those groups that are most at risk as fighters for democracy and human rights and as a result of their opposition activities – all these cases are considered on a case-by-case basis. These groups include, in particular, opposition politicians, journalists, scientists and representatives of related professions.
Issuing a German visa for endangered groups is carried out on the basis of a decision of the German Ministry of the Interior “on the protection of the political interests of the FRG”. The clarification emphasizes that people who flee military service and at the same time are at risk due to their anti-war activism and fight for human rights have the right to try to obtain permission to enter Germany. However, the mere fact of evading military service or desertion does not confer such a right.
Mobilization in Russia and political asylum in Germany
After Vladimir Putin announced mobilization in Russia on September 21, 2022, hundreds of thousands of people left the country in the following weeks. At the same time, several German politicians made statements from which it was concluded that Germany would grant asylum not only to deserters who left the ranks of the armed forces, but also to deviants who try to avoid mobilization.
“We have changed the decision-making practice at the BAMF (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees),” said German Interior Ministry spokesman Maximilian Kall on September 23, responding to a question from DW. “Specifically, this means that, as a rule, desertion or refusal to perform military service in Russia is considered grounds for granting protection.” Those fleeing mobilization or defecting from the Russian army “now, under new conditions, face political persecution and repression very serious,” he explained.
“Citizens of the Russian Federation who are at risk of political persecution can apply for asylum in Germany,” the BAMF also confirmed on September 28 in a written response to a DW request. “Deserters facing severe reprisals, as a rule, receive protection in Germany. The BAMF decision-making practice has already been amended in this regard.”
However, in the following months, the German authorities clarified their position and excluded evading mobilization and desertion as grounds for obtaining asylum.
Source: DW
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