An Afghan national, a former judge of the Supreme Court in Afghanistan before the Taliban took power, and his family, currently in Pakistan, were included in December 2022 in the “Bridging list” programme by the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI). This programme included the declaration of admissions pursuant to Section 22(2)2 of the Residence Act for political reasons, with the scope to continue the humanitarian "human rights list" which was closed in August 2021. The "bridging list" served to link the period until the start of the federal admission programme, as decided by new federal government on in its coalition agreement in December 2021.

The applicants applied for the issuance of visas to the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Islamabad (Pakistan) on 2 February 2023, but no decision had been made on these visa applications. A security interview was carried out on 24 February 2025, but the admission programme related to Afghan nationals was suspended in May 2025, pending a political decision by the Federal Government on its further implementation. The applicants requested before the Administrative Court of Berlin to be granted the visas and concomitantly sought interim legal protection. By letter of 17 July 2025, the Federal Foreign Office informed the court that there were no security concerns and no intention to revoke the declaration of admission. The Administrative Court of Berlin allowed the applicants’ urgent application (temporary injunction) for the issuance of visas. Subsequently, the Administrative Court rejected the applicant’s request by finding that the intention to admit refugee pursuant to Section 22(2) of the Residence Act did not encompass a visa entitlement. The applicants submitted a constitutional complaint on 29 September 2025 alleging that their right to effective legal protection under Article 19(1)4 sentence 1 of the Basic Law was violated.

The Constitutional Court partly allowed the complaint by finding that the preliminary injunction was well-founded because the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg has not ruled on the authorities’ obligation to decide on the visa application.

The Constitutional Court noted that under Section 22(2) of the Residence Act, a residence permit or a visa can be issued when the Ministry of the Interior or a body designated by it declared admission to safeguard the politic interests of Germany. The Higher Administrative Court interpreted that there was no political interest since Germany suspended the ‘Bridging list’ program, thus the applicant could not derive a subjective right. The Constitutional Court clarified that there is a distinction between the declaration of admission and the visa procedure, emphasising that nonetheless the applicants were entitled to a decision on their visa requests under ordinary law.

The Constitutional Court allowed the interim injunction, holding that urgency was demonstrated by the fact that the applicants were at increased risk of deportation from Pakistan, with increased access for the Taliban and significant consequences for the applicants. The court noted also the "Joint Declaration of Intent" of September 2025, where the Pakistan and Germany agreed that all exit procedures must be completed by 31 December 2025. Consequently, there was an increased risk of the removal of the applicants from Pakistan to Afghanistan after the expiry of this period. The court concluded that the applicants demonstrated an urgent and substantive interest in having certainty about the outcome of the visa procedures. However, the court rejected the request for the issuance of visas as inadmissible by finding that the applicants failed to submit considerations related to extraterritorial duties of protection.