Germany reports major dip in asylum requests at start of 2025

The BAMF federal office for refugees and migration reported on Friday that the number of asylum requests in Germany decreased considerably during the initial two months of this year.

Widespread backing for a decrease in asylum seekers significantly influenced last month’s national election, aiding the conservatives in their first place and the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) in their second place finishes.

The BAMF reported that during January and February, 29,947 individuals sought asylum, marking a 43.4% drop from the corresponding period last year. According to BAMF, most asylum applications were submitted by Syrians, totaling almost 8,000, with Afghanistan following next.

The method for addressing migration is a significant issue in the initial discussions about creating a new governing coalition between the conservatives led by Friedrich Merz and the Social Democrats (SPD).

Merz has called for stricter measures on migration, introducing a five-point strategy in January that he stated his future coalition ally would need to agree to. Members of the SPD highlighted that Merz, as chancellor, would not be able to easily push through a plan they considered largely unlawful.

“The figures show the extent to which we are pushing back irregular migration through consistent action,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, an SPD member, said on Friday.

According to Faeser, “significantly more people” are being deported from Germany at the same time, with an increase of more than 30% compared with the start of 2024.