The Interior Ministry has attributed the drop in applications to stricter migration policies, but other factors also played a role.
Germany saw a sharp drop in asylum applications last year, with first-time requests plunging to 113,236 in 2025, according to the Interior Ministry.
That is less than half the previous year's total of 229,751 and almost a third of the 329,120 asylum requests filed in 2023.
Stricter migration policy in Germany
The decline comes as Germany's conservative-led government tightened migration policies and stepped up border checks. Measures include border rejections, refusal to admit family members, scrapping fast-track citizenship applications and increasing migrant returns.
"The clear signal from Germany, that migration policy in Europe has changed, has reached the rest of the world," said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt.
"Those who have no claim to protection should not come; those who become offenders must leave," he added.
The ministry said deportations also rose by around 20% in 2025.
But in his New Year's message, Chancellor Friederich Merz indicated the doors are not completely closed to those seeking asylum.
He said his government was working to create new avenues for legal migration while closing routes for illegal and disorderly migration.
"For us, humanity and order are two sides of the same coin," he said.
Factors beyond policy at play
Migration experts attribute the decline in the rate of asylum-seekers to more than just stricter German policies.
The fall of Syria's Bashar Assad in late 2024 has reduced the number of Syrians seeking asylum in Germany.
In November 2025, Mediendienst Integration, a nonprofit media service, estimated around 948,000 Syrian citizens were living in Germany. Some have returned to Syria over the last year under a support program that includes travel costs and initial financial assistance from the German government.
Beyond Germany, migration trends across Europe have also shifted.
In Italy, tougher migration policies have curbed arrivals, indirectly affecting Germany. Spain shows the opposite trend, offering irregular migrants with job prospects better chances of legal status.
Author: Louis Oelofse with dpa
First published: January 4, 2025
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