MIGRATION

Germany is preparing to overhaul its asylum rules to give people seeking protection quicker access to the labour market, as part of broader migration reforms. The federal government announced plans in Berlin to enable asylum-seekers to start working and integrating into society sooner, even while their applications are being processed. Under the new proposal, asylum-seekers who have been in Germany …

Brussels, 24 February 2026 — The European Union has adopted a controversial revision of its asylum and deportation rules that will allow member states, including Germany, to deport asylum applicants to countries outside the EU — even when they have no personal connection to those states. The decision, finalised by EU governments this week in Brussels, forms part of the …

The Berlin-based German-African Initiative for Development and Integration (GAIDI) gUG is intensifying its strategic engagement against irregular migration by partnering with civil society organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria, one of the main countries of origin of irregular migrants to Europe. This commitment was underlined by Femi Awoniyi, Director of GAIDI, during his keynote address at the first 2026 meeting of the …

Civil society organisations in Lagos State have renewed calls for closer coordination and stronger partnerships to address irregular migration and promote dignified, legal mobility. Members of the Civil Society Network on Migration and Development (CSOnetMADE) made the appeal when they held their first coordination meeting of 2026 in Lagos recently. The meeting, held on 22 January at the Denny Social …

From 1 February 2026, Germany will apply a new regulation that fundamentally changes how so-called “safe countries of origin” are designated in asylum procedures. The federal government says the move will speed up decisions, ease pressure on authorities and courts, and send a clear signal that asylum applications from certain countries have little chance of success. Critics, however, warn that …

The landmark Trans-African Tourism and Unity Campaign, led by Pan-African advocate and former Ghanaian lawmaker Ras Mubarak, concluded its multi-month continental tour on 22 January 2026 after traversing 31 African countries and covering more than 40,000 kilometres. The campaign, which began in Accra on 18 August 2025, was to promote visa-free travel across Africa by 2030, strengthen tourism, deepen cultural …

Germany urgently needs immigration to cushion the effects of demographic change and labour shortages. Yet a growing number of people living in the country, particularly those with a migration background, are contemplating the opposite move: leaving Germany altogether. According to a new short study by the German Centre for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM), 21 per cent of people living …

The waters off The Gambia have claimed yet more young lives in a devastating reminder of the perils of irregular migration. On New Year’s Eve, a boat carrying over 200 migrants capsized near Jinak village in the North Bank Region, leaving at least 31 people dead and dozens still missing. For the survivors, hope has come at a steep price: …

Last week in Brussels, interior ministers of the European Union took decisive steps to advance a far‑reaching overhaul of the Common European Asylum System (GEAS) — a reform process that has been among the most contentious in recent EU political debate. The meeting resulted in concrete agreements on measures that could transform asylum procedures across the Union, reshape where and …

A recent ruling by the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg (OVG Berlin-Brandenburg) has cleared up a long-standing ambiguity in the family reunion visa process. According to a report published on the website of the law firm Migrando Rechtsanwälte, the court clarified that language certificates do not simply lose their validity over time. This decision reinforces the rights of migrants seeking …

A group of female asylum-seekers housed in a reception centre in Lower Saxony has published an open letter addressed to the authorities — alleging that their living conditions amount to de facto detention. The women, currently at the reception facility in Landesaufnahmebehörde Niedersachsen (LAB), describe life in the centre as humiliating and dehumanizing. In their letter — released on 24 …

In a landmark decision published on published on 20 November, Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht, BVerfG) declared that police may not enter a refugee’s room in a communal shelter to carry out a deportation without first obtaining a judicial search warrant. The court, based in Karlsruhe, ruled that such an enforcement measure constitutes a search (“Durchsuchung”) under the German Basic …

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has raised alarm over the growing intersection between climate change and forced displacement, warning that by mid-2025 around 86 million displaced people were living in countries facing extreme climate risks such as droughts, floods and heatwaves. The agency reported that the total number of people forcibly displaced worldwide reached 117 million this …

Germany is witnessing a sharp rise in deportations alongside landmark legal rulings that are reshaping how removals are carried out. Between January and September 2025, authorities deported 17,651 people — about 20 percent more than during the same period last year, according to the Mediendienst Integration. Most deportations were to Turkey, Georgia, and Serbia, according to official data. The rise …

Coming back to Nigeria after years abroad is never a simple decision. For some, it follows many years of life in Germany. For others, it comes after receiving a decision on an asylum claim, where staying is no longer possible. Whatever the reason, return can feel uncertain and overwhelming. This is where trusted support makes all the difference. What Is ARRIVES? Assisting the …

Recognition of International Detention Coalition highlights urgent need for humane migration policies. This is relevant to African migrants and asylum-seekers, given how widespread the practice of immigration detention is — and how many people are directly affected in Africa, en route or in destination countries. The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) has awarded its prestigious 2025 Human Rights Prize to the International Detention …

Greece has passed a controversial new migration law that imposes harsher penalties on rejected asylum-seekers and tightens government control over migration-related NGOs, drawing widespread criticisms from civil society and human rights groups. Under the new legislation, individuals whose asylum applications are rejected must leave Greece within 14 days. Failure to comply can result in prison sentences of two to five …

Asylum-seekers in Germany are facing significantly lower chances of having their applications approved, according to official government data from the first half of 2025. The recognition rate for protection claims has plummeted to 26.5%, a sharp decline compared to previous years, when recognition rates ranged between 59 and 72 percent. The fall is especially striking for applicants from conflict-torn countries: …

Berlin, 25 September 2025 – Ten years after the so-called “summer of migration,” Germany is taking stock of one of the most transformative moments in its recent history. The Heinrich Böll Foundation, in cooperation with the German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM), will host an expert conference titled “Between Open Arms and Closed Borders – A Decade of …

The European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) has reported a significant 23 percent reduction in asylum applications across the EU+ region (EU Member States plus Norway and Switzerland), with 399,000 new claims registered between January and June 2025, 114,000 fewer than during the same period in 2024. A striking reduction in applications from Syrian nationals played a central role. Syrian …