Preliminary figures reveal a significant decline in the number of individuals seeking refuge in churches across Germany this year, a trend attributed to broader shifts in asylum application patterns and increasingly restrictive border policies. According to data released to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, just 2,139 people were granted sanctuary within churches from January to the end of November, a considerable drop from the 2,966 recorded for the entirety of 2024.
A spokesperson for the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) acknowledged the correlation, stating that the decrease in church asylum cases mirrors the overall reduction in asylum applications. This lessening demand stems from a lower influx of individuals seeking protection within Germany in 2025. The development follows four consecutive years of rising numbers, prompting questions about the factors driving this reversal.
The phenomenon of “church asylum” – where religious communities provide temporary refuge to asylum seekers – requires mandatory reporting and dossier submission to Bamf. While rejection by the authorities ideally mandates the individual’s departure within three days, this process is often circumvented. The majority of cases involve what are termed “Dublin cases” individuals for whom another EU member state is primarily responsible for processing their asylum claim. Bamf data indicates this year’s church asylum placements primarily served to prevent transfers to countries including Bulgaria, Croatia and Poland.
Dieter Müller, Deputy Chairman of the Ecumenical Federal Working Group Asylum in the Church, directly links the declining church asylum figures to the intensified border rejections implemented by German authorities. He argues that the increased refusal of entry to individuals previously registered for asylum in other EU countries, a practice he deems “incompatible with European law” has significantly reduced the volume of Dublin cases reaching Bamf. This, in turn, impacts the demand for church asylum. Müller highlights Bamf’s asylum statistics demonstrating a substantial decrease in Germany’s requests to other EU states for the assumption of responsibility for asylum seekers, falling to roughly half the volume compared to the previous year.
The declining reliance on church asylum, while seemingly indicative of reduced pressure on German resources, raises critical questions about the legality and ethical implications of border practices and the potential for increased vulnerability among those seeking refuge within the EU. The diminished number of asylum transfers also obscures the broader complexities of asylum seeker distribution and the responsibility-sharing within the European Union framework.