Germany sees 60% drop in asylum applications after border crackdown

Asylum applications in Germany fell nearly 60% in August 2025 compared with the same month last year, official figures revealed Tuesday.

The Interior Ministry said 7,803 applications were filed in August, down from 18,427 a year earlier. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt credited the sharp decline to tougher border controls introduced by Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s new conservative-led government in May.

“Our asylum policy change is working. Our measures are successful,” Dobrindt told Bild, while calling for tighter coordination within the EU to reduce migration pressure further.

Germany, once the top destination for asylum seekers in Europe, has slipped behind Spain, France, and Italy in 2025. Between January and June, Germany logged about 61,000 applications, compared with 76,000 in Spain, 75,000 in France, and 63,000 in Italy.

The government argues its border controls are consistent with EU rules, which require asylum seekers to apply in the first EU country they enter. Police now turn away migrants lacking valid documents or those who passed through other EU states before reaching Germany.

The policy has fueled tensions with neighbors, particularly Poland, which imposed reciprocal controls and accused Berlin of pushing migrants across the border. Germany insists the measures are temporary, pending the rollout of the EU’s new migration and asylum pact next year.

Critics, however, contend that broader factors — including shifts in conflict zones and fewer arrivals from Ukraine and Syria — also play a role in the decline.