Germany sees surge in asylum seekers from Georgia, only 0.3% of applications approved

The German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees reported the country has witnessed a 51.1% increase in asylum applications from Georgian nationals in 2023, reaching a total of 351,915, with the country’s citizens finding themselves in the sixth position among asylum seekers, with a mere 0.3% of their applications gaining approval.

 

The statistics, released on Monday,  revealed that 329,120 applicants sought asylum for the first time, while 22,795 applied for an extension of their stay in the country. The leading nationalities seeking asylum included Syrians (104,561), Turks (62,624), Afghans (53,582), Iraqis (12,360), and Iranians (10,206).

 

Georgian nationals submitted a total of 9,399 asylum applications in 2023, with 8,414 being first-time requests. Despite this number, the approval rate for Georgian applications was dismally low at 0.3%.Further analysis of the quarterly statistics for the last three months of 2023 indicated a decline in asylum seekers from Georgia. The numbers dwindled to 448 in October, 417 in November, and 351 in December.Last year Germany declared Georgia a safe country, which means a big number of Georgians seeking asylum would be deported.