Turkish asylum applications in Germany increased by 216%

Source: Schengen Visa Info

A total of 20,802 asylum applications from Turkish nationals were received by authorities in Germany in the first 11 months of 2022, marking a significant increase compared to 7,873 applications filed under the same purpose during the same period in 2021.

Such figures have been provided by the German Federal for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) while stressing that there was recorded a total of 216 percent surge in asylum applications by Turkish nationals in the first 11 months of last year, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

The main reasons for Turkish nationals seeking asylum in Germany were restrictions on basic freedoms as well as political oppression and a deterioration of the Turkish economy.

Based on the data provided by BAMF, after Syria and Afghanistan, Turkey is placed in the third position, in terms of the highest number of applications filed for asylum in Germany.

Lawyer Dündar Kelloğlu, from a nongovernmental organization working with refugees in Germany, said that the majority of applications for asylum in Germany filed by Turkish nationals were from young people.

It has been reported that the approval rate for Turkish nationals in applications for asylum was 73.8 percent in the first 11 months of last year, while 8.9 percent of applications were from Kurds from Turkey.

The number of rejected applications for a period from January until October last year was 451.

In this regard, Kelloğlu, said the majority of refugees from Turkey are people who reportedly have links to the Gulen movement, according to a report provided by Stockholm Center for Freedom.

“Most of these people are educated and good at demanding their rights, making their justifications and expressing themselves in Germany. That is why the acceptance rate of asylum applications is high for Turks. This is not the case for most Kurdish applicants,” he pointed out.

Authorities in Germany saw an increase in the number of asylum applications last year. The figures provided by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees revealed that for a period from January until August last year, the number of asylum applications in Germany was 115,405, thus marking an increase of 35.4 percent compared to the figures of the same period in 2021, during which period 85,230 applications were filed.

In addition, the figures provided by the European Office for Statistics, Eurostat, previously revealed that European Union countries were subject to an increased number of applications filed for asylum, while Germany remained the main recipient.

The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) last month said that a total of 399,000 people received standard benefits that were offered to those seeking asylum last year, while a third of recipients were minors.