The number of Turkish nationals newly registered as protection seekers in Germany fell sharply in 2025, dropping by 65 percent from 11,000 in 2024 to 6,000, Deutsche Welle’s Turkish service reported on Tuesday, citing official data.
The figures, released by Destatis, Germany’s Federal Statistical Office, are based on the Central Register of Foreigners and refer to people staying in Germany on international-law, humanitarian or political grounds.
The category is broader than asylum seekers and includes foreigners with recognized protection status, pending cases or rejected applications who are still allowed to remain in the country.
Turkey was among the countries with the steepest declines in first-time registrations of protection seekers. The largest proportional decrease was recorded among Syrians, whose number fell by 73.8 percent, from 36,000 in 2024 to 13,000 in 2025.
The number of Ukrainians newly registered as protection seekers also fell, declining by 32.5 percent, from 93,000 in 2024 to 45,000 to 2025.
Overall, the number of first-time registrations of protection seekers in Germany fell by 46.4 percent in 2025, from 289,000 in 2024 to 155,000 in 2025, a decrease of 134,000 people.
The total number of people registered as protection seekers in Germany stood at 3.23 million at the end of 2025, down by 68,000, or 2.1 percent, from the end of the previous year. They accounted for 3.9 percent of Germany’s population.
Ukrainians remained the largest group, with 1.16 million people registered as protection seekers at the end of 2025, followed by Syrians with 669,000 and Afghans with 321,000. Together, citizens of the three countries accounted for 66.5 percent of all registered protection seekers in Germany.
According to Destatis, 2.7 million protection seekers, or 83.4 percent of the total, had recognized protection status at the end of 2025. Of those, 88.1 percent had temporary residence permits, while 11.9 percent had permanent residence.
The decline follows several years in which Turkish migration to Germany reached record levels. Between 2022 and 2024, 112,000 Turkish citizens moved to Germany, making Turkey the third-largest country of origin for migrants during that period, after Ukraine and Syria, according to earlier Destatis figures.
Germany, which hosts the largest Turkish diaspora in Europe, has long been a key destination for Turks fleeing political persecution or seeking better economic opportunities.
Following a failed coup in Turkey in 2016, thousands of academics, journalists, civil servants and others sought asylum in Europe, particularly in Germany, amid a sweeping crackdown by the Turkish government.
The drop in new protection registrations also comes as Germany has increased deportations to Turkey. According to a German government response to a parliamentary inquiry by the opposition Left Party, 1,087 people were deported to Turkey in 2024, up from 515 in 2022. In the first quarter of 2025 Turkey again topped the list of destination countries, receiving 502 of the 6,151 people deported from Germany.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported in September 2024 that Germany and Turkey had reached an agreement on the gradual deportation of more than 13,500 Turkish citizens whose asylum applications had been rejected. Ankara denied the report.
Turkish nationals were also among the largest groups of foreigners without valid residence permits who left Germany voluntarily in 2025 under state-supported return programs, according to official data cited by German media.
From January through October, 3,589 Turkish nationals without valid residence permits returned to Turkey under voluntary return programs supported by financial assistance. Overall, 30,406 people left Germany voluntarily during the period, compared with 19,538 deportations.
Many voluntary returns are carried out under Germany’s REAG/GARP humanitarian support programs, which provide assistance to people who choose to return to their country of origin or relocate to a third country willing to accept them. The programs are jointly funded by the federal government and Germany’s 16 states.