Dramatic decrease in asylum applications in Germany in 2017

Photo credit: Getty images.

TMP – 03/02/2018

The number of migrants arriving and applying for asylum in Germany dropped to 186,000 by the end of 2017 – far below the 280,000 migrants who arrived in 2016.
Since the migration inflow began back in 2015, Germany has been one of the most sought after destinations for hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Middle East and Afghanistan.
According to data released by the German Interior Ministry, over 890,000 migrants arrived in Germany in 2015 when Germany operated under an ‘open door’ migration policy. Responding to growing public concern over the migration wave, this year Chancellor Angela Merkel sought to implement a cap on new migrants of 200,000.
Syrian nationals constitute the largest group of asylum applicants in Germany at over 47,000, followed by some 21,000 migrants from Iraq and 12,000 migrants from Afghanistan.
The unprecedented reduction in migration to Germany is largely attributed to the Balkan countries closing their borders, as well as the EU’s increased collaboration with Turkey in preventing migrants from entering Europe.
New security measures have also made it more difficult for migrants to apply for asylum. As well as being allowed to access mobile phone data, German authorities have introduced speech recognition tests to determine an asylum seeker’s dialect and accent in case of doubt about their country of origin.
“This is a big win for Germany’s security,” Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told reporters in Berlin according to AFP news.