Germany deports engineer who never set foot

ISTANBUL

While applying for a visa to Germany after being offered a job, an engineer learns that he was deported from the country despite never having set foot in the country.

Mustafa Aydın, a mechatronics engineer, started working in the defense industry after graduating from university in 2005. In August 2023, after his application to one of the world's leading defense and aerospace companies in Germany was accepted, he applied for a visa.

After waiting for a while, Aydın applied to the Federal Foreign Office in Germany and was told, "We have determined that we deported you in 2001. Write us your defense within five days."

Aydın, who had never been to Germany before and received his first passport in 2006, sent his defense to the German authorities along with a document from Türkiye proving that he had not entered or left the country. Aydin did not receive any results despite the passage of nearly six months.

"I was shocked by the answer. I was studying at a university on a scholarship in 2001. I wanted to find out if there had been any entries and exits without my knowledge. I know I didn't enter or leave, but I went to see if this was in the records, and there was no record,” Aydın said.

"According to the allegations, my deportation took place in 2001. I asked them, 'Are you sure the ID number matches?' I also sent them my photograph and fingerprints. They did not share any information with me about this issue," he added.

Aydın expressed that the fact that Germany wrongly blacklisted him in 2001 made him a victim of another rejection for a visa application he applied to France back in 2006.