January 4, 2026, 1:35 p.mJan 4, 2026, 2:03 p.m
Fewer and fewer people are applying for asylum in Germany. According to a statement from the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the number of initial applications was 113,236 in 2025. In the previous year there were 229,751. In 2023, the number of initial applications was 329,120.
According to a report by “Bild am Sonntag”, there was a decline of around 33 percent to 168,543 in initial and follow-up applications. In 2023 there were still 351,915 initial and follow-up applications. Subsequent applications can be made if an application has been withdrawn or rejected and circumstances have changed.
That’s why the number of asylum seekers is falling
The number of asylum seekers has been declining for a long time. Experts cite various reasons for this decline, such as the border controls that were gradually introduced from October 2023 by the then Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) and intensified by her successor Alexander Dobrindt (CSU).
After the end of the era of long-term ruler Bashar al-Assad, fewer Syrians came to Germany. Effects are also attributed to Italy’s more restrictive migration policy. The opposite also applies to Spain, where irregular migrants with job prospects have a chance of being legalized.
Dobrindt: “Migration turnaround” is having an impact
Dobrindt said: “The clear signal from Germany that migration policy in Europe has changed has reached the world.” Dobrindt commented in the “Bild am Sonntag” and in a message.
The ministry attributes the decline to the federal government’s “migration turnaround,” which is now having an impact. Specifically, in addition to rejections at the borders, the suspension of family reunification, the abolition of “turbo naturalization”, a reduction in “pull factors”, i.e. things that are considered attractive, and an increase in returns are mentioned.
“If you don’t have a right to protection, you shouldn’t come.”
The government is regulating migration events with clarity and consistency. “Anyone who has no right to protection should not come – anyone who becomes a criminal must leave,” said Dobrindt.
According to the ministry, there were around 20 percent more deportations last year. In the new year, people who had committed crimes in Germany were once again deported to Afghanistan. (sda/dpa)