The number of asylum applications in Germany has decreased by half
5 January 02:14
The number of initial applications for asylum in Germany in 2025 decreased by more than half. This was reported by Reuters on Sunday, January 4, citing data from the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
According to the agency, in 2025, 113,236 initial applications for refugee status were filed in Germany. For comparison: in 2024, the Ministry of the Interior reported 229,751 applications, and in 2023 – 329,120. Thus, last year the number of applications decreased by 51 percent and 66 percent, respectively, compared to two years ago.
Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt attributes the changes in the figures to changes in German migration policy implemented by the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
In particular, according to Dobrindt, the introduction of border controls at the entrance to Germany, the termination of the family reunification program, the abolition of accelerated opportunities for citizenship, and an increase in the number of deportations had an effect.
“We are clearly and consistently putting things in order in migration processes. Those who have no right to asylum should not come. Those who become criminals must leave,” Dobrindt added.
German government considers the civil war in Syria over
Earlier, the German government said that after the overthrow of the Assad regime and the change of power in Syria, Berlin considers the civil war in the country over. In November 2025, Chancellor Merz emphasized that Syrian citizens no longer have any grounds for asylum in Germany.
In late December, for the first time since 2011, one person was deported from Germany to Syria. In the new year of 2026, the German government plans to continue deportations to Syria and Afghanistan, which official Berlin had previously considered dangerous.
