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Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD)
Photo: Jonathan Penschek / dpa
The number of new asylum applications filed in Germany fell significantly in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) in Nuremberg said 65,419 initial applications were submitted from January to March. Compared to the same period in 2023, this means a decrease of 19.2 percent. “We continue to protect many people from war and terror and at the same time effectively limit the number of those who do not need our protection,” commented Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) on the figures.
Temporary border controls have prevented 17,600 unauthorized entries since October. The federal police have since arrested more than 700 smugglers through these checks. “We will continue border controls for as long as necessary to effectively limit irregular migration in the long term,” emphasized Faeser.
The trend towards falling asylum numbers had been apparent since the beginning of the year. In March, almost 10,000 fewer initial applications were registered than in January. According to the Federal Office, most applications came from people from Syria in the first quarter of 2024, with almost 20,000. This was followed by Afghanistan (10,198) and Turkey (10,119). Decisions were made on 80,651 initial and follow-up applications from asylum seekers in the first quarter. At 46.1 percent, less than half received protection status.
Faeser welcomed the European agreement on a common asylum system in the EU. "The Common European Asylum System is the key to permanently relieving the burden on our communities: through asylum decisions at the external borders when there is only a small prospect of protection, and finally through fairer distribution within the EU," said the minister. "That's why it's so important that this migration pact is now approved by the European Parliament."
czl/dpa