The Federal Ministry of the Interior of Germany explains the decline in figures by innovations in migration policy: border controls, cancellation of family reunification programs, deportations, and changes in citizenship laws.
The number of initial asylum applications in Germany in 2025 decreased by more than half. This was reported on Sunday, January 4, by Reuters, citing data from the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
According to the ministry, in 2025, 113,236 initial applications for refugee status were submitted in the Federal Republic of Germany. In comparison, in 2024, the Ministry of the Interior reported 229,751 applications, and in 2023, 329,120. Thus, the number of applications decreased by 51% last year and by 66% over two years.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt links the changes in the figures to shifts in German migration policy being implemented by the federal government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
In particular, according to Dobrindt, the effects were due to the introduction of border controls upon entry into Germany, the suspension of family reunification programs, the cancellation of expedited citizenship opportunities, and an increase in deportations.
"We are clearly and consistently restoring order in migration processes. Those who do not have the right to asylum should not come. Those who become criminals should leave," Dobrindt added.
The German Government Considers the Civil War in Syria to Be Over
Earlier, the federal government of Germany stated that after the overthrow of Assad's regime in Syria and the change of power, it considers the civil war in the country to be over. In November 2025, Chancellor Merz emphasized that Syrian citizens no longer have any grounds for being granted asylum in Germany.
At the end of December, for the first time since 2011, Germany deported one person to Syria. In the new year of 2026, the German government plans to continue deportations to Syria and Afghanistan, which the authorities previously considered unsafe.
