Protection status in Germany: Asylum claims are taking longer again

The duration of legal proceedings regarding asylum decisions by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) has increased again. This emerges from a response from the federal government to a request from the Left Party. Accordingly, they lasted an average of 15.3 months in the first half of this year.

In recent years the duration has decreased. After an average procedure duration of 26.5 months in 2021, they lasted an average of 16.7 months in 2024. For the past year, the federal government reported an average duration of 14.3 months; the data for December was not available.

Longest waiting time in Saxony

One reason it is taking longer is the significant increase in the number of asylum applications. It can also have an impact whether the relevant court receives a particularly large number of lawsuits from people from certain countries of origin where the decision on protection status is difficult.

The left-wing MP Clara Bünger also pointed this out. In 2025, an increasing number of refugees from countries where the human rights situation had deteriorated were increasingly being rejected. “This affected the countries of origin Iran, Russia, Afghanistan and Turkey,” she said. Approximately every second checked asylum decision to the country of origin Iran was then corrected by the courts.

The period of time varies greatly from state to state. In Saxony, the duration of the procedure is longest, with an average of 20.4 months. In Rhineland-Palatinate, however, it is only half as long: people here waited an average of 9.2 months.

As of August 15, 196,315 asylum cases were pending nationwide.