Overview
- BAMF says 16,576 people used federal return funding in 2025, up from 10,358 in 2024; 4,432 went to Turkey, 3,678 to Syria after 5,976 applications, and 1,334 to Russia.
- Of those assisted, 6,394 were obliged to leave, 7,302 were in ongoing asylum cases and 2,787 held temporary permits; the REAG-GARP scheme covers travel and pays up to €1,000 per adult and €500 per child (max €4,000 per family).
- New state data show more than half of planned deportations failed in NRW (12,404 of 22,533 attempts), about 60% in Saxony (4,053 of 6,397) and 61% in Lower Saxony (5,766 of 9,454), often due to absence at pickup, going underground, church asylum, health issues or origin-state refusals.
- Federal Police previously recorded 56,322 planned removals in 2024 but only 22,234 carried out, frequently canceled because people were not handed over on the flight day.
- Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt calls rising voluntary returns a key piece of the coalition’s ‘Migrationswende’, the 2026 budget earmarks about €38 million for return programs, and opposition voices question the safety of returns to Syria.