In some federal states, asylum seekers have to be very patient: in Saxony, where many people from Venezuela are complaining, it takes the longest. Things are much faster in Rhineland-Palatinate.
The number of asylum seekers coming to Germany has fallen significantly in the past two years. (Symbolic image) Photo: Patrick Pleul/dpa
Berlin. After years of acceleration, the duration of legal proceedings regarding asylum decisions is now increasing again. As can be seen from a response from the Federal Government to a question from MP Clara Bünger (Left), proceedings on lawsuits against decisions by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) in German courts lasted an average of 15.3 months in the first half of this year. In an answer to an earlier parliamentary question, the federal government reported an average duration of 14.3 months for the previous year, although the data for the month of December was not available.
The average duration of proceedings fell for four years
One thing is certain: after an average duration of proceedings of 26.5 months in 2021, the legal proceedings had become shorter year after year. In 2024, court proceedings involving lawsuits against initial asylum applications or subsequent applications lasted an average of 16.7 months.
And: In some federal states, these legal proceedings take twice as long as in other countries. According to the Federal Government, Saxony brought up the rear in the first half of this year with an average duration of proceedings of 20.4 months. In Lower Saxony too (20 months), anyone who sued against an asylum decision had to wait a particularly long time for a court decision. In Rhineland-Palatinate it was on average after 9.2 months, in Bavaria after 10.7 months.
However: While the duration in Bavaria either fell or at least did not increase over the past three years, a reverse trend was observed in Rhineland-Palatinate. In 2023, the asylum application procedures there were completed after an average of just five months.
More procedures - complex situation in the country of origin
One reason for the procedure to take longer is the increase in the number of asylum applications. The duration of the proceedings is also influenced by whether the respective administrative court receives a particularly large number of complaints from people from certain countries of origin for whom the decision for or against protection in Germany is difficult. Nationwide, a particularly large number of asylum claims from people from Türkiye were pending before the administrative courts in November. At that time, the courts in Saxony most often had to deal with proceedings in which Venezuelan nationals had sued against a Bamf decision.
Bünger points to the poor human rights situation in Iran
Bünger also explains the fact that the asylum application process is taking longer again by saying that in 2025 the Bamf increasingly rejected refugees from countries in which the human rights situation had deteriorated. “This affected the countries of origin Iran, Russia, Afghanistan and Turkey,” says the Left MP. Around every second checked asylum decision to the country of origin Iran was corrected by the courts.
In recent years, some federal states have taken measures to speed up asylum applications. Among other things, they rely on more staff, specialized chambers, a concentration of procedures and central documentation databases.
More than 196,000 cases were before the courts in August
As of August 15th, 196,315 asylum cases were pending nationwide; as of January 15th, there were 191,566 asylum procedures pending decisions. It's not just people whose asylum applications have been rejected who go to court. Asylum seekers who have received subsidiary protection sometimes complain - for example so that they can bring their family members with them. Family reunification is currently completely suspended for this group, after there was a quota regulation for 1,000 relatives per month in previous years.
Bamf decides a little faster again
In contrast to the administrative court proceedings on asylum claims, the proceedings at the Bamf in the first half of this year were somewhat shorter than last year. But this may not be due to the new European asylum rules. The reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) only came into force on June 12th.
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According to the federal government, the Federal Office processed asylum applications within an average of 11.3 months in the first six months of this year. Last year, Bamf employees needed an average of 12.2 months, significantly longer than in previous years.
The increase in the duration of procedures last year - in 2024 they lasted an average of 8.7 months - has to do with the fact that the Bamf processed many applications that had been submitted some time ago. Applications from Syrians were not processed at all for several months, citing the still unclear situation in the country of origin after the change of power in December 2024.
According to information from the federal government, the Bamf checked the protection of 10,064 people from Syria between the beginning of January and the end of August. In almost 27 percent of cases, protection status was revoked.
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