Germany's Asylum Protection Rates Decline Amid Syrian Application Moratorium
A significant drop in asylum protection rates in Germany coincides with a halt on decisions for Syrian applications, impacting overall migration dynamics.
Germany has reported a marked decrease in asylum protection rates, particularly influenced by a moratorium on decisions for Syrian asylum applications.
As of early March 2025, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) indicated that only 19.1 percent of asylum applications decided in January and February resulted in granted protection status or extensions due to deportation bans, a drop from last year's overall protection rate of 45 percent.
This decline is largely attributed to the recent suspension of decisions concerning Syrian applicants, which the German Federal Ministry of the Interior has instated, citing the ongoing unstable situation in Syria.
In February, Syria accounted for 27.7 percent of all asylum seekers in Germany, making it the leading country of origin for applicants, followed by Afghanistan (15.3 percent) and Turkey (10 percent).
Despite the reduction in new asylum applications, BAMF processed a similar number of protection requests compared to the previous year, with approximately 55,070 decisions made in January and February 2025, slightly up from 54,705 in the same period in 2024. The halt on decisions for Syrian applicants has not influenced the average processing time for asylum cases at BAMF; the average processing duration remained at 12.3 months for initial and subsequent applications, inclusive of cases from 2023 and those involving complexities.
Conversely, claims made in the past year received responses in an average of 4.3 months.
In February 2025, BAMF accepted 11,189 initial applications, representing a 43 percent decline from February of the previous year.
Overall, Germany received 229,751 initial asylum applications in 2024, reflecting a decrease of nearly 100,000 applicants, or 30.2 percent, from 2023. Additionally, there was a 12 percent overall decline in asylum applications submitted across the European Union, Norway, and Switzerland during this timeframe.
As of early March 2025, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) indicated that only 19.1 percent of asylum applications decided in January and February resulted in granted protection status or extensions due to deportation bans, a drop from last year's overall protection rate of 45 percent.
This decline is largely attributed to the recent suspension of decisions concerning Syrian applicants, which the German Federal Ministry of the Interior has instated, citing the ongoing unstable situation in Syria.
In February, Syria accounted for 27.7 percent of all asylum seekers in Germany, making it the leading country of origin for applicants, followed by Afghanistan (15.3 percent) and Turkey (10 percent).
Despite the reduction in new asylum applications, BAMF processed a similar number of protection requests compared to the previous year, with approximately 55,070 decisions made in January and February 2025, slightly up from 54,705 in the same period in 2024. The halt on decisions for Syrian applicants has not influenced the average processing time for asylum cases at BAMF; the average processing duration remained at 12.3 months for initial and subsequent applications, inclusive of cases from 2023 and those involving complexities.
Conversely, claims made in the past year received responses in an average of 4.3 months.
In February 2025, BAMF accepted 11,189 initial applications, representing a 43 percent decline from February of the previous year.
Overall, Germany received 229,751 initial asylum applications in 2024, reflecting a decrease of nearly 100,000 applicants, or 30.2 percent, from 2023. Additionally, there was a 12 percent overall decline in asylum applications submitted across the European Union, Norway, and Switzerland during this timeframe.
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