Germany reports major dip in asylum requests at start of 2025

The number of asylum applications in Germany fell significantly in the first two months of this year, the BAMF federal office for refugees and migration said on Friday.

Popular support for a reduction in asylum seekers had a big impact on last month's national election, contributing to the first and runner-up finishes of the conservatives and the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD), respectively.

The BAMF said that in January and February, a total of 29,947 people applied for asylum, a decline of 43.4% compared with the same period last year.

The majority of asylum applications came from Syria, at nearly 8,000, followed by Afghanistan, according to BAMF.

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How to approach migration is a major point of contention in exploratory talks on forming a new governing coalition between Friedrich Merz's conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD).

Merz has demanded a crackdown on migration, presenting a five-point plan in January that he said his future coalition partner would have to accept. Lawmakers from the SPD pointed out that Merz would not, as chancellor, be able to simply railroad through a plan they deemed in large part illegal.

"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.