Overview

• Germany recorded 7,803 first-time asylum applications in August 2025, down from 18,427 a year earlier, according to BAMF data confirmed by public broadcasters.
• July logged 8,293 first-time applications, and BAMF counted 86,916 total asylum applications in January through July, including 70,011 first-time claims.
• Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt called the drop a success of the government’s migration strategy, saying, “Unsere Asylwende wirkt. Unsere Maßnahmen sind erfolgreich.”
• Reinforced checks and turnbacks ordered on May 7 at all nine land borders continue, with exemptions for vulnerable groups; the Bundespolizei registered 9,506 rejections from May 8 to July 31, and Dobrindt cites 660 asylum seekers turned back and 12,000 prevented entries as evidence.
• Migration researchers point to multiple factors influencing the decline, including a shift in origins with Afghanistan again the top country, and reporting indicates Spain, France and Italy now register higher asylum totals than Germany.