Increase in initial asylum applications in Germany in September

In Germany, more people applied for asylum for the first time in September than in the previous month. The long-term decline in the number of asylum seekers remains. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) accepted 5,276 initial asylum applications last month, a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry said.

That is 40 percent less than in September last year and 70 percent less than in September 2024. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) spoke of the success of national and European measures in view of the decline in the number of asylum seekers. There were fewer than 4,000 applications in July and August.

In the past few months, a number of people who have been living in Germany for a long time have submitted a follow-up application to the Bamf. This may be related to a ruling by the European Court of Justice from October 2024 on the situation in Afghanistan: It found that women from the country, which has been ruled by the Islamist Taliban again since 2021, are generally entitled to protection.