The number of asylum applications in Germany is falling sharply. In August, there were 60 per cent fewer than in 2024, and in September, 50 per cent fewer than in the previous year. This was announced by Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt in the Bundestag.
The tougher policy of the CDU-SPD government in Berlin is having an effect. “We are reducing our magnetic effect,” said the Home Secretary in his speech to MPs.
The number of asylum applications also more than halved in October. In October 2024, 19,785 applications were received, compared to 8,823 in October 2025. From January to October this year, there were a total of around 97,000 initial applications. According to the ministry, there were just under 200,000 in the same period in 2024.
Tighter controls at the borders
The border controls tightened in May are having an impact. According to the Home Office, around 11,000 people had been turned away by August. However, only 660 of them were people who wanted to apply for asylum. By November, more than 18,000 people had been sent back at the borders or deported to the country they came from.
Number of initial applications halved
The number of asylum applications to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) also fell significantly. From January to September 2025, 87,787 initial applications were received. Of these, 13,652 concerned children under the age of one born in Germany. In the same period in 2024, there were 179,212 initial applications: around 51 per cent more.
More applications from Afghanistan
Until now, most applicants came from Syria. Since July of this year, more people from Afghanistan than from Syria have been applying for asylum in Germany. This is particularly evident in September, with 9,126 applications from Afghan women compared to 2,494 from Syrian women. More and more Afghan women are submitting follow-up applications for asylum. “Since the Taliban took power, the situation for women and girls in Afghanistan has deteriorated further,” according to the BAMF. It takes into account a ruling by the European Court of Justice in its decisions. According to this ruling, gender and nationality alone are sufficient grounds for Afghan women to apply for asylum. The change in the political situation in Syria is likely to be the decisive factor in the decline in asylum applications from Syrians. In December 2024, the long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad was overthrown.
See the figures from the Federal Ministry of the Interior:
https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/kurzmeldungen/DE/2025/10/bt-geas.html
and https://social.bund.de/@bmi/115486046193026204
For statistics from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees:
https://www.bamf.de/SharedDocs/Meldungen/DE/2025/251008-am-asylzahlen-september2025.html?nn=284830
On the situation of women in Afghanistan:
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