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Saxony Reports Pilot Return Center Boosted Voluntary Departures to 1,509

Officials credit counseling coupled with tighter oversight for driving more voluntary returns.

Overview

  • Through the end of November, the Interior Ministry counted 1,509 verified voluntary departures, about 560 more than in all of 2024.
  • Interior Minister Armin Schuster says the rise reflects the effect of Saxony’s Landesausreisezentrum, including the impact of simply announcing placements there.
  • Opened in June as a CDU–SPD pilot run by the state directorate in Dresden, the center concentrates people obliged to leave rather than dispersing them to municipalities.
  • Residents face reporting rules with frequent presence checks and receive intensive return counseling, with the stated aim of faster repatriation for cases without immediate legal barriers.
  • Since opening, the facility has housed 122 people; by mid-December 83 men were present, 13 were deported or transferred, and 10 left voluntarily, while broader deportations remain constrained by widespread Duldung status.