Germany to give 3-month emergency visa to Turkey, Syria earthquake survivors

The deadly earthquake has killed more than 25,000 people.

Berlin:

Germany will grant three-month visas to Turkish and Syrian earthquake victims with family in the country, the interior minister said on Saturday.
“This is emergency aid,” German Interior Minister Nancy Feiser told the daily newspaper Bild.

“We want to allow Turkish or Syrian families in Germany to bring their close relatives from the disaster zone to their homes without bureaucracy.”

The deadly earthquake has killed more than 25,000 people.

Fazer said those eligible could have a “regular visa, issued quickly and valid for three months”.

He added that the joint initiative with the Foreign Ministry would allow victims to “find shelter and receive medical treatment” in Germany.

About 2.9 million people of Turkish descent live in Germany, with more than half of them holding Turkish nationality.

The Syrian community is also large and is estimated at 924,000 since former German Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the borders to refugees in 2015 and 2016.

In 2014 there were 118,000 Syrians in Germany.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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