According to the statement, the largest groups of applicants were citizens of Syria, Turkey, and Afghanistan, with about 105,000, 63,000, and 54,000 people, respectively.
The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees completed more than 260,000 asylum procedures last year: Positive decisions were made in more than 130,000 cases, 62,000 applications were rejected, and 65,000 procedures were terminated for various reasons, such as withdrawing the asylum application. It takes an average of 6.8 months to process applications. In December, asylum procedures were ongoing for 240,000.
According to BAMF data, the number of first asylum applications for children under one year old who were already born in Germany has exceeded 23,000.
Due to the high number of asylum seekers, the German government, led by Olaf Schulz, decided last year to speed up asylum procedures and limit the benefits provided to asylum seekers. In addition, it has increased financial resources for provinces and communities struggling with migration in the central budget, facilitated the deportation of unsuccessful asylum seekers, and increased punishment for human traffickers.
The number of migrants was highest in the middle of the last decade. In 2015-2016, more than a million people arrived in Germany, most of them Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis.
Cover image source: Getty Images
