Overview
- Germany recorded 39,646 first‑time asylum applications in the first half of 2026, a steep fall from 61,336 in the same period of 2025, the interior ministry reported.
- The European Asylum Agency says EU+ countries received 321,627 asylum applications in H1 2026, a 19.3% decline from H1 2025, but its totals include repeat filings while Germany’s national figure counts only first‑time claims.
- When repeat applications are included Germany ranks fourth in EU+ asylum totals, with France, Italy and Spain recording higher combined numbers in the same period.
- Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt intensified border controls after taking office in April 2025 and German authorities say they turned back or deported 14,270 people in H1 2026 while arresting 494 alleged smugglers and identifying 4,074 people with outstanding warrants.
- A new EU asylum reform that took effect on June 12, 2026 makes it easier to transfer people to third countries and could reshape routes and state responses, while governments say certain vulnerable people remain exempt from returns.