PRO ASYL Presseerklärung | Press Release
April 16, 1999
Kosovo refugees:
German diplomatic representations refuse
visa for family reunification
PRO ASYL: immediate unbureaucratic reception required
- Kosovoflüchtlinge:
Deutsche Auslandsvertretungen verweigern Visa zur Familienzusammenführung
PRO ASYL: Sofortige unbürokratische Aufnahme erforderlich - Kosovo refugees:
German diplomatic representations refuse visa for family reunification
PRO ASYL: immediate unbureaucratic reception required
INFO
(partially translated)
This is a machine translation by the IBM-supported PERSONAL TRANSLATOR plus. It is slightly edited by combining its results with the translation of SYSTRAN. But you should not rely on it. If you want to use a translated text append or reference the original text.
The Nation-wide Human Rights Association for Refugees PRO ASYL calls upon the Federal Government, to enable relatives of refugees from the former Yugoslavia living in Germany by a generous and unbureaucratic regulation on issuing visa to receive their relatives expelled from Kosovo. While until few weeks ago visa were issued occasionally, it seems now that the possibility for helping family members would be prevented by German authorities systematically. In a regulation of the Home Office Schleswig-Holstein from April 9, 1999 it is said: „Visa for Kosovo Albanians in connection with a declaration according to § 84 Aliens Law will not be issued. Corresponding declarations hasn’t to be accepted by the aliens offices; The same applies to Yugoslavian nationals of Serbian ethnic origin.“ The Home Office of the State of North Rhine Westphalia made a similar declaration on April 12, 1999. This means in plaintext: Even if relatives living in this country or German citizens agree to meet the living costs of concerned individuals, by signing a so-called declaration on liability visa will not be issued. There will be no examination.
By this, so PRO ASYL-spokesperson Heiko Kauffmann, refugees are forced to hand over themselves to commercial refugee smugglers. For relatives in Germany couldn’t be prevented by bureaucratic hurdles from their moral duty of helping their expelled family members.
From this background PRO ASYL calls upon the Foreign Office to instruct the diplomatic representations abroad… to issue visa for individuals who have close relatives in Germany.
