The number of asylum applications in Germany has surged once again.

The turnaround in migration policy promised by Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) appears to have stalled: according to a report by Welt, the number of first-time asylum applications rose again in September. Interior ministry figures show that around 9,130 initial applications were submitted last month – fewer than a year ago, but still significantly higher than the 7,800 recorded in August. Afghan, Syrian and Turkish nationals were particularly affected. This means that September’s figures exceeded all monthly totals recorded since March this year.

Including some 10,790 subsequent applications, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) registered a total of more than 19,900 asylum requests.

The sharp rise in applications in recent months is mainly due to Afghan women. The trigger was a ruling by the European Court of Justice last October, which classified the Taliban regime’s treatment of women as “gender-based persecution.” As a result, Afghan women are now automatically entitled to refugee status. The BAMF is therefore required to grant refugee status to Afghan women living in Germany who submit supplementary applications, purely on the basis of their gender and origin — without the need to prove individual persecution.

Because of Taliban rule, Afghan women may now seek protection on the grounds of their origin and gender.

Warum die Asylanträge wieder steigen https://t.co/1ErtidRZqW pic.twitter.com/NqfU1Ygb7B

— WELT (@welt) October 1, 2025

Since the beginning of the year, the number of such applications has been steadily increasing, as Afghan women who had previously received only subsidiary protection, a deportation ban or a rejection, are now making use of their new legal entitlement. A key incentive is that refugee protection comes with privileged family reunification rights. This means the nuclear family has the right to join relatives in Germany, regardless of whether the person already living there can support them financially.

More Than 120,000 Applications Already Filed

At the same time, asylum seekers’ recognition rate has seen a significant drop this year: fewer than one in four applicants is now granted protection. Over the past decade, the rate was often around one third, and in recent years it was considerably higher — sometimes exceeding 60 percent. This was due to the dominance of Syrian applicants, who were almost universally recognised, even if they had previously lived for extended periods in Turkey or other countries.

Meanwhile, the number of Syrians and Afghans applying for asylum has been declining. Moreover, the collapse of the Assad regime at the end of 2024 led to a suspension of decisions on Syrian applications: these are now neither approved nor rejected until the situation can be more clearly assessed. The statistics are therefore increasingly shaped by groups such as Turks, Iraqis and Iranians, who face very low recognition rates.

Despite all measures, the monthly inflow of asylum seekers and their family members continues to far exceed the number of departures and deportations. While several hundred thousand Syrians have returned home from Turkey since the fall of the Assad regime, only around 2,000 have left Germany under voluntary return programmes.

Nevertheless, the federal government has hailed the lower asylum figures compared with last year as proof of success in its migration policy — despite the fact that more than 87,000 first-time applications have already been submitted in 2025 alone. Including subsequent applications, the total number now exceeds 120,000.