In March 2026, the number of people who filed a first‑time asylum application in Germany fell again compared with the previous year. According to new data from the federal interior ministry, reported by “Bild”, 6,981 first‑time applications were registered in that month. That represents a drop of roughly 22 percent relative to March 2025, when 8,983 applications were submitted. Across the first quarter of the year, 21,617 refugees filed new asylum claims, down 39 percent from the 35,657 first‑time applicants recorded in the first quarter of 2025.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) framed the trend as a success of the current government’s policy. “The asylum turnaround is working. Asylum numbers continue to fall” he told the newspaper. Dobrindt said he would keep the current approach, noting that the ministry would “continue the path of control, course and clear stance” consistently.
The first‑time applications refer to asylum pleas by migrants who had not previously applied in the Federal Republic. A sharp decline was also seen in the number of entries into Germany without a visa or residence permit. From January to March 2026, the federal police recorded exactly 12,147 such entries at all German land, air and sea borders – the lowest figure since the pandemic year 2021 (9,653 entries). In peak years, 2023 and 2024, the figures had hovered just below 20,000 each.
An internal security report, cited by “Bild”, states that “seasonally, the findings of illegal migration at German borders are currently at a low level”. The report cites “sustainably reduced migration movements” from the primary source countries of Afghanistan, Syria and Turkey and new destination countries such as France, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia as the main reasons, besides the seasonal effect.
Following the tightening of border controls on May 7 2025, the federal police have since recorded 43,432 entries without a visa or residence permit. Of those, 31,725 individuals were immediately refused entry-about 73 percent of all cases. In 278 cases, the police allowed entry to especially vulnerable persons, including the elderly, the sick and children. According to a decision of the administrative court in Berlin, the refusal of asylum seekers is unlawful unless it is first determined which EU state is responsible for the asylum application.