Germany: The Number of Asylum Applications Reviewed Has Doubled in the Past Three Months

On Friday, April 9, the German Ministry of the Interior announced that approximately 180,000 asylum applications were reviewed in the first quarter of this year, more than double the figure for the same period last year. According to Reuters, 60% of these applications were approved, with about half of the applicants being Syrian nationals. The majority of the one million one hundred thousand migrants who entered Germany last year are currently in temporary camps and are forced to wait weeks or months to submit their asylum applications. Due to the closure of borders in the Balkan region, which was the main route for migrants heading to Germany, the number of people entering Germany sharply decreased in March. Most of these asylum seekers have fled war, repression, or poverty in Middle Eastern countries and even further afield. The influx of a large population of migrants and asylum seekers has put significant pressure on the coalition government of Germany and Chancellor Angela Merkel, while simultaneously strengthening the anti-immigration populist party, which was able to attract a group of voters from the Christian Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party in local elections in three German states last month. Furthermore, the arrival of Muslim Arabs has heated discussions about the integration of this group of migrants into German society, with some citizens concerned that a large number of Muslims may overshadow German culture. At the same time, the German government has tightened regulations for accepting asylum seekers and migrants. Reuters adds that according to government statistics, around 60,000 asylum applications were received in March, which is an 11% decrease compared to February, but represents an 87% increase compared to March 2015. In the first quarter of this year, after Syrian nationals, Iraqis and Afghans rank next in terms of the number of asylum applicants. The German Immigration and Asylum Office has made decisions on 150,000 asylum applications in the past three months, reflecting a 160% increase compared to the same period last year. The German Ministry of the Interior states that prior to the migration crisis, primarily caused by the large population fleeing the Syrian civil war, the approval rate for asylum applications was about 42%, but in recent months it has risen to 61%. The German Interior Minister noted that the number of individuals who have been expelled from the country after their asylum applications were rejected has also increased, and it appears that more migrants are voluntarily leaving Germany each month. According to him, in the first two months of this year, 4,500 individuals whose asylum applications were rejected were expelled from the country, which is nearly double the figure for the same period in 2015. According to these statistics, in February alone, about five thousand migrants voluntarily left Germany, which is double the number recorded in February of last year. In March, an average of 144 people entered Germany daily through Austria, whereas this number was around 1,300 in February and about 2,000 in January.