Overview of the main changes since the previous report update

The report was previously updated in June 2025.

International protection

• Key asylum statistics: In 2025, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) received 168,543 asylum applications (first-time and subsequent combined), continuing the significant downward trend from 229,751 first-time applications in 2024 and 351,915 total applications in 2023. Afghanistan replaced Syria as the main country of origin, with 64,104 applicants (2024: 23,149), followed by Syria (24,240 compared to 76,765 in 2024), Türkiye (14,686 compared to 29,177 in 2025), Iraq (4,907 compared to 7,839 in 2024), and Somalia (4,713 compared to 6,953 in 2024); notably, Guinea appeared in the top ten for the first time (2,238). The top ten nationalities collectively accounted for the vast majority of all applications, with 101,606 applications still pending as of 31 December 2025.

The overall protection rate fell sharply to 28.1% (down from 44.4% in 2024), corresponding to 87,394 positive decisions out of 310,930 total decisions. This dramatic decline was primarily driven by the collapse of the Syrian protection rate from 44.4% to just 2.1%, following the fall of the Assad regime and the BAMF’s revised country guidelines. Of the 310,930 total decisions in 2025, 25.1% were formal decisions (inadmissibility, withdrawals etc.), 70,159 resulted in refugee status, 5,130 in subsidiary protection, and 12,105 in deportation bans. The in-merit protection rate stood at 37.5%, compared to an overall rejection rate of 71.9%.

Protection rates varied dramatically by nationality: Afghanistan maintained a relatively high in-merit protection rate of 78.9% (67.2% overall), Somalia 83.7% in-merit, and Eritrea 82.4% in-merit, while Syria plummeted to 5.3% in-merit, Türkiye stood at 9.7%, Russia at 6.9%, and Vietnam at just 0.7%. (see Statistics).

Asylum Procedure

• Length: In 2025, the average duration of asylum procedures increased significantly compared to 2024. According to the BAMF, the average processing time for first and subsequent asylum applications was 12.2 months, up from 8.7 months in 2024 and 6.8 months in 2023, reflecting both a revised calculation method introduced in 2023 and longer procedures in practice. For comparison, the average length of first-instance procedures alone in 2025 was 8.7 months, up from 8.7 months in 2024 and 7.6 months in 2023, indicating continued delays despite the decline in new applications and the reduction of the backlog. By contrast, the average duration of so-called “annual procedures”—decisions on applications lodged within the previous twelve months—was 3.1 months in 2025 (see Regular procedure).
• Access: In 2025, access to the German asylum procedure was restricted in practice through administrative instructions authorising the rejection of asylum seekers at internal borders. Several courts, in expedited proceedings and on the basis of summary judicial review of individual cases, questioned the lawfulness of such border rejections and reaffirmed the obligation to allow entry and conduct an asylum procedure once protection is sought. Nevertheless, the federal government continued the practice, resulting in over 21,500 people being turned back at borders between May and November 2025 (see Access to the territory and push backs).
• Safe countries of origin: A major legislative change was adopted in December 2025, allowing the Federal Government to designate safe countries of origin by statutory ordinance, removing the requirement for parliamentary approval and substantially lowering the threshold for future designations (see Safe country of origin).
• Independent counselling: Independent counselling services for asylum seekers and vulnerable groups continued to be funded, but no systematic data collection exists on vulnerabilities identified through counselling or on the effectiveness of safeguards in practice (see Legal assistance).
• Dublin: In 2025, Germany’s use of the Dublin procedure declined markedly in terms of outgoing requests, while the number of actual transfers remained largely stable compared to previous years. Germany submitted 35,942 outgoing Dublin requests in 2025—less than half the level recorded in 2024 (74,583) and 2023 (74,622). Of these requests, 23,912 were accepted and 5,377 transfers were carried out, a transfer figure comparable to 2024 (5,827 transfers) and slightly higher than in 2023 (5,053). At the same time, Germany received 16,530 incoming requests in 2025, of which 10,512 were accepted, resulting in 4,865 transfers to Germany, continuing the gradual increase observed in earlier years (4,592 in 2024 and 4,275 in 2023) (see Dublin).
• Protection outcomes across major nationalities shifted fundamentally in 2025: most strikingly for Syrians and Afghans: following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Germany imposed a processing freeze on Syrian cases, then partially resumed decisions under revised guidelines that resulted in an overall Syrian protection rate collapsing from 44.4% in 2024 to just 2.1% in 2025, while BAMF also initiated individual revocation reviews. Also, for the first time in nearly 15 years deportations to Syria took place. For Afghan nationals, protection rates fell sharply from ~93.9% to 67.2%, with men facing a particularly dramatic decline to approximately 50% by mid-2025, reflecting BAMF’s revised country assessment under Taliban rule. A new legislative framework for differential treatment based on nationality was introduced in December 2025 (new Section 29b Asylum Act), establishing a dual-track system for designating safe countries of origin by government ordinance, and Germany additionally suspended family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection for two years, primarily affecting Syrians (see Differential treatment of specific nationalities in the procedure).

Reception conditions

• National rollout of the payment card (Bezahlkarte) is largely completed: Following the legal anchoring of the payment card in the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act in May 2024, almost all Federal States had implemented the card by January 2025. Only Berlin delayed its rollout to 2026. Due to different rollout processes, rules for using the card vary considerably between and within Federal States, with cash withdrawal limits set at €50/month in 13 out of 16 states. Ongoing court proceedings continue to scrutinise the lawfulness of the restrictions imposed, with diverging outcomes across jurisdictions. Civil society organisations maintain that restrictions may push benefits below the constitutional minimum subsistence level (see Forms and levels of material reception conditions)
• Reduction of social benefits as of January 2025: Monthly rates under the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act were reduced as of 1 January 2025 compared to 2024, with decreases of €13–19 per month across different recipient categories, due to lower-than-expected inflation in 2024. Civil society organisations renewed criticism of the structural gap between benefits for asylum applicants and those for German nationals, arguing that the distinction in the calculation of basic needs lacks objective justification (see Forms and levels of material reception conditions).
• Extension of the waiting period for access to regular social benefits: Through the Rückführungsverbesserungsgesetz (Repatriation Improvement Act), the waiting period for so-called analogous benefits under Section 2 AsylbLG was extended from 18 to 36 months, so access to regular social benefits and corresponding health care now generally begins only after three years. Medically necessary treatment continues to be provided in the meantime (see Forms and levels of material reception conditions).
• Decreasing occupancy in reception facilities and first centre closures: Overall asylum application numbers continued to fall in 2025, dropping to 113,236 first-time applications, which marks a significant decrease compared to previous years. This led to decreasing occupancy rates at reception facilities in several Federal States, with first closures reported in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. However, facilities in large cities, particularly Berlin and Hamburg, remained under pressure (see Housing).
• Establishment of the first Dublin centres: In early 2025, Germany established its first dedicated Dublin centres for the expedited return of asylum applicants to responsible EU Member States in Hamburg and Eisenhüttenstadt, Brandenburg. These facilities accommodate individuals for whom another EU state is responsible under the Dublin Regulation, providing only limited benefits during this period. As of mid-2025, both centres were operational, though actual occupancy remained low, reflecting the continued practical and procedural obstacles to Dublin transfers across the EU (see Types of accommodation).

Detention of asylum seekers

• Reversal of mandatory court-appointed legal counsel (§ 62d AufenthG): The 2024 Act on the Improvement of Removals had introduced a statutory obligation requiring courts to automatically appoint a lawyer for unrepresented persons in pre-removal detention and custody pending departure proceedings. In 2025, the government reversed this safeguard: legislation repealing § 62d AufenthG was adopted in December 2025, with the repeal entering into force on 1 February 2026. This is particularly significant given that detention proceedings are fast-moving and access to independent legal advice in facilities is already structurally limited (see Legal assistance for review of detention).
• New Federal Constitutional Court rulings on pre-arrest judicial authorisation: In August 2025, the Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) issued several chamber decisions (2 BvR 329/22, 330/22, 1191/22) finding that arrests made ahead of detention orders violated the constitutional judge-reservation requirement (Art. 2(2) GG in conjunction with Art. 104 GG) where no prior judicial authorisation had been obtained and where no prompt ex post judicial decision followed. The Court clarified that courts must be organisationally accessible until at least 9 pm for urgent deprivations of liberty. These rulings impose new procedural constraints on the practice of arresting persons for detention that were not reflected in the 2024 report (see Judicial review of the detention order).
• New BGH ruling on inadmissibility of detention where transfer obstacles are known: A 2026 BGH ruling (referenced in the 2025 update) clarified that detention for Dublin transfers is inadmissible if transfer obstacles — such as known capacity issues in Italy — are apparent at the time of detention. This reinforces the proportionality requirement and provides new grounds for challenging detention orders in Dublin cases. In 2025, only 5,377 Dublin transfers were actually carried out despite 23,912 approved requests, with 30,778 deadlines expiring due to obstacles, underlining the practical relevance of this ruling (see Legal framework of detention).

• Piloting CEAS detention elements implemented ahead of legal authorisation in Munich: Since January 2025, a pilot run by the Federal Police Directorate Munich has linked ongoing border controls at the German-Austrian border to Dublin procedures conducted under detention conditions. Persons identified via EURODAC as registered in another EU Member State are placed directly into removal detention facilities and processed for accelerated Dublin transfers under shortened deadlines — operationalising elements of the new Asylum Procedures Regulation before they have entered into force. PRO ASYL reports that vulnerable persons, including those with expressed suicidal ideation, have had their mental health disclosures treated as indicators of absconding risk rather than triggers for protection measures, and that shortened deadlines in detention prevent meaningful access to legal remedies (see Grounds for detention).
• Repeal of mandatory legal representation: Closely linked to the legal counsel change above, in practice, the shortened timelines in detention proceedings (especially in the Munich pilot) compound the problem: detainees frequently cannot make meaningful use of judicial remedies within the available window. The 2024 report had noted that detention orders are often poorly reasoned; the 2025 update reinforces this concern with new case-level evidence from PRO ASYL, including the documented case of a Syrian woman detained for approximately six weeks, transferred to Bulgaria, and subsequently detained again there (see Pre Removal Detention).
• Increased deportations: In 2025, 22,787 deportations were carried out (including 3,628 minors), a 13.5% increase over 2024’s 20,084. By the end of 2025, Germany resumed deportations to Syria and Afghanistan after many years of largely suspended returns to these countries. (see Return procedure).

Content of international protection

• Revocation procedures: In 2025, revocation procedures increased again to 24,660, following a record low in 2023 (15,424). However, the number of actual revocations remained low: the status of 3,215 persons was withdrawn or revoked, mainly affecting nationals from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan (see Revocation (Widerruf) based on change in circumstances).
• The 2024 Act to Modernise Nationality Law had introduced a 3-year fast-track for particularly well-integrated persons. In 2025, the German parliament voted to abolish this fast-track route; the standard 5-year waiting period now applies again. Dual citizenship (permitted since June 2024) remains in place (see Naturalisation).
• Suspension of family reunification for subsidiary protection holders (§ 36a AufenthG): From 24 July 2025, family reunification for all beneficiaries of subsidiary protection is suspended for two years (until 23 July 2027), including all pending cases. This is described as significantly more restrictive than comparable suspensions in other EU Member States. As of December 2025, only 2 visas were issued under the hardship clause while 2,586 applications were pending; PRO ASYL and the German Institute for Human Rights criticise the hardship criteria as practically impossible to meet (see Family reunification).
• End of all state-level ad hoc family reunification programmes: Both the Berlin programme (not renewed by Federal Interior Minister Dobrindt in mid-2025) and the Thuringia Syria programme (expired 31 December 2024) were terminated. As a result, no federal state operates any comparable scheme at present (see Family reunification).
• Expedited appointments for minor sponsors discontinued: The Federal Foreign Office stopped providing expedited visa appointments for minor subsidiary protection holders at end-2024, and courts confirmed this practice is lawful. Courts have additionally ruled that imminent majority no longer justifies interim measures, meaning many minors lose their right to family reunification through procedural delays alone (see Family reunification).
• Rising “Fehlbeleger” phenomenon documented: in Thuringia, ~35% of collective accommodation residents are recognised beneficiaries who legally no longer need to be there but cannot find private housing; in Bavaria (Lower Franconia), ~5,401 such persons were recorded as of September 2025. A new peer-reviewed study finds refugees’ housing pathways are marked by frequent moves and persistent structural disadvantages (see Housing).
• After the original 2025 budget draft proposed cutting funding for integration courses to approximately €500 million — roughly half of actual 2024 spending of ~€1.2 billion. Following widespread criticism from providers and civil society, the final 2025 budget amounted to € 1.3 billion. The 2026 budget is projects to be lower than 2025 actual spending and set at € 1.1 billion, casting doubt on whether integration courses represent a sustained policy priority (see Access to education).
• Around 64% of refugees who arrived in 2015 were employed by end-2024; full-time workers from this cohort earned ~€1,600 gross/month (May 2025). However, statistics reveal a significant gender gap: fewer than one-third of refugee women are employed in Germany, significantly below other OECD countries (see Access to the labour market).

Temporary protection

The information given hereafter constitute a short summary of the German Report on Temporary Protection, for further information, see

• Key statistics on temporary protection: As of 31 December 2025, 1,329,742 persons fleeing Ukraine were registered in the Central Register of Foreigners (AZR). Of these, approximately 97% hold Ukrainian citizenship, around 61% of adults are women, and approximately 360,000 are children and adolescents under 18 — of whom around 127,637 are of primary school age (6–11) and around 102,025 are between 14 and 17 years old. As of December 2025, 1,145,088 residence permits had been issued to beneficiaries of temporary protection since the activation of the Temporary Protection Directive.

Temporary protection procedure

• Automatic extension of residence permits until 4 March 2027: In October 2025, the German government adopted a further extension (Ukraine-Aufenthaltserlaubnis-Fortgeltungsverordnung), automatically prolonging all valid temporary protection residence permits until 4 March 2027, following the EU Council’s prolongation decision. No individual renewal application was required. The extension does not apply to non-Ukrainian nationals without permanent residence or recognised protection status in Ukraine.
• End of eligibility for temporary protection beneficiaries transferring from other EU Member States: From 13 August 2025, persons who had already received temporary protection in another EU Member State were no longer eligible to obtain temporary protection in Germany. This change was introduced by a Federal Ministry of the Interior circular letter.

• Clarification enabling transition to other residence titles (“Spurwechsel”): A 2025 clarification by the Federal Ministry of the Interior made it possible for temporary protection beneficiaries to transition to residence permits for work, study or vocational training without first having to leave Germany and re-enter.

Content of temporary protection

• Proposed downgrade of social benefits for newly arriving temporary protection beneficiaries (Rechtskreiswechsel): In November 2025, the Federal Cabinet adopted a draft law providing for a change of applicable legal regime: persons entering Germany from 1 April 2025 onwards would receive benefits under the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act rather than the regular Social Code (Bürgergeld), which would significantly reduce their monthly benefits. The measure is still under discussing in the legislative process. Civil society organisations criticised the reform for creating a two-tier system, increasing poverty risks, and worsening integration prospects for new arrivals. The law was still subject to parliamentary deliberation at the time of writing.
• Labour market integration improving but structural obstacles persist: By October 2025, approximately 318,000 Ukrainians were employed in Germany. Despite rising employment figures, structural barriers persist, including language difficulties, childcare obligations, and non-recognition of Ukrainian qualifications. Around 208,000 Ukrainians were registered as unemployed in December 2025, while over half of the approximately 522,000 registered as employable were not available to the labour market due to structural reasons such as childcare responsibilities, participation in integration courses or further training.

• Housing shortages persist in major cities: Accommodation facilities in Berlin and Hamburg remained under sustained pressure throughout 2025 despite an overall decline in newly arriving refugees. The former Tegel airport continued to operate as an overcrowded reception site; Berlin authorities announced plans to reduce its capacity and establish an additional site at a former Bundeswehr facility.