Asia, Afghanistan

In August 2021, Omaid was evacuated by the Danish government when the Taliban took over power in Kabul. Like many Afghans, he had a large family, whom he had supported through his work for Western forces. The guidelines for the evacuation were unclear, and it was dangerous to go to the airport. He became nervous about whether he could take his entire family with him and therefore decided to leave his eldest little sister, who was 17 at the time, with his brother and have her come to Denmark later. This turned out to be a fatal mistake, which took almost three years to rectify.

As Refugees Welcome set out in our consultation response to the special law for evacuated Afghans, a completely unreasonable difference was drawn between whether a family member managed to get on a plane during those chaotic days or not. Those who did not, ended up having to wait for years and meet entirely different criteria.
 
When Omaid and the other evacuees finally received the temporary and inadequate protection offered by the special law after 8 long months of waiting, he applied immediately to bring his sister to Denmark, with our help. But this was to be the first of a series of rejections due to technicalities associated with the basis for residence. Her brother in Kabul was very unhappy about having his niece living with him, and young women were finding life increasingly difficult under the Taliban regime. Omaid and his mother became more and more desperate and unhappy about the situation, and the Danish newspaper Berlingske wrote about the case.
 
When Omaid got a residence permit on the basis of the Refugee Convention, we applied again but got another rejection, because Asia had by then turned 19 due to the long waiting and processing times. We submitted a three-page complaint plus appendices to the Immigration Appeals Board – and won our case in February 2024, shortly after Asia's 20th birthday! The Board agreed with us that the unity of the family should be taken into account, regardless of whether she had turned 18 in the meantime. The case was sent back to the Immigration Service, and a residence permit was issued in May.

But Asia was in Kabul, and it had become very difficult for Afghans to enter Pakistan, where she had to pick up her travel documents in person in order to come to Denmark. Omaid managed to get an expensive business visa for her to get into Pakistan. But at the Danish embassy in Pakistan, she was told that they had not received anything from the Danish Immigration Service. It took so long for the letter to arrive that her visa expired, and she had to return to Afghanistan and apply for a new visa when the letter finally did arrive – each time, Omaid had to persuade his brother to travel with her.

In July 2024, Asia finally arrived in Denmark and was reunited with her mother and siblings. What they had thought would be a few weeks of separation turned into almost three years. Omaid has supported his family in Denmark and Asia in Kabul through the job he was fortunate enough to get shortly after his arrival. As a family reunified person in Denmark, Asia is not entitled to benefits and has to live with her older brother and live off his income. She has applied for asylum, to which she is entitled, and will then be able to start an independent life in Denmark.