Ukrainians increasingly refused asylum status Germany
Nearly one in five applicants rejected asylum status in Germany during the second half of last year was a Ukrainian citizen, RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) reported on Saturday, citing the federal government's response to a parliamentary inquiry from the Left Party.
Ukrainians reportedly comprise nearly 20% of applicants rejected by the German federal government. They were only second to Syrians, who accounted for 20.6%. Migrants from Afghanistan and Turkey were also among those most commonly turned away, but the publication didn't disclose the figures.
Currently, Ukrainians do not need to apply for asylum in order to obtain shelter in Germany or another EU state, RND noted, highlighting that despite this, entry into the country is not automatically permitted.
Citing the federal government, the news outlet added that asylum is not granted to Ukrainians who had lived abroad for many years and aren't subject to the mortal risks associated with the conflict in their home country.
According to government estimates, as quoted by RND, the number of illegal entries decreased from 127,549 in 2023 to 83,572 in 2024. Meanwhile, the share of people trying to apply for asylum without entry permits reportedly dropped significantly, from 44.7% to 23%.
Germany has become the primary destination for Ukrainian refugees in the EU since the conflict between Moscow and Kiev escalated in February 2022. The bloc's economic powerhouse had accepted almost 1,153,000 of these displaced people as of the end of November 2024, accounting for 27.2% of the EU total, according to Eurostat. The country was followed by Poland and Czechia.
Meanwhile, Russia has welcomed over 5.3 million Ukrainians, official statistics from early 2023 demonstrate.
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German MPs vote to tighten border controls
In addition, Germany has continued to accept migrants from other countries amid ongoing crises in the Middle East and Africa. The total number of refugees with varying types of residency permits living in Germany as of the end of June 2024 amounted to some 3.48 million, according to the statistics provided in response to a request by the Left Party in September.
The figure marks an increase of roughly 60,000 people compared to data provided at the end of 2023.
Meanwhile, the nation has faced a dramatic rise in the number of violent crimes, with non-Germans disproportionately represented. In the crime statistics for 2023 provided by the Interior Ministry, they accounted for 34.4% of all offenses, excluding immigration violations, marking a notable increase from the previous year.
Last week, the German Bundestag voted to tighten border controls, passing a motion that calls for increased checks at land borders amid growing immigration and security concerns. The step occurred in the wake of a fatal knife attack in Bavaria, in which a rejected Afghan asylum-seeker killed two people, including a two-year-old child, and injured several others.
According to a recent survey conducted by Ipsos, over a third of Germans see immigration as a number one reason for personal concern.
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