• Germany saw a significant decrease in first-time asylum applications in the first half of 2025 compared to previous years.
• A major reform of European asylum rules, including easier deportation to third countries, was implemented in June 2025.
• Germany's Interior Minister ordered intensified border controls and instructed the Federal Police to turn back asylum seekers, resulting in the deportation of 14,270 people at the borders in the first half of the year.

Significantly fewer people applied for asylum in Germany in the first six months of this year compared to last year, according to government figures.

The Interior Ministry revealed on Friday that 39,646 people had made their first application for protected status in Germany in the first half of the year.

In the same period of 2025, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) received 61,336 first-time asylum applications.

In the first half of 2024 the figure was twice that, with about 121,000 first-time asylum applications.

A major reform of European asylum rules came into force across the EU on June 12. These include, for example, making it easier for EU member states to deport people to third countries with which they have no connection.

Germany's Interior Minister, Alexander Dobrindt, ordered an intensification of border controls after taking office in April 2025. He also instructed the Federal Police to turn back asylum seekers - except those who are ill, pregnant or otherwise in need of special assistance.

According to the ministry, 14,270 people were turned back or deported at Germany's borders in the first half of this year.

The figures indicate that 494 suspected people-smugglers were arrested during the same period. The police also identified 4,074 people for whom an outstanding arrest warrant had been issued.