EU Asylum Agency Releases 2025 Asylum Report, Highlights Germany’s Burden and Progress
Poll Shows Majority Back Chancellor Merz’s Remarks on Migrants and Urban ‘Cityscape’
BAMF Advertises 400 Integration-Unit Posts to Tackle Processing Backlog
Latest News
Munich Customs Seize €69,000 in Gold from Returning Holiday-Makers, Issue Travel Advisory
Munich customs officers seized nearly €70,000 in undeclared gold jewellery from travellers returning ahead of the autumn break and reminded the public of strict €300 road-travel allowances. Employers sending staff abroad should brief them on customs rules, as violations can jeopardise residence status.
Interior Minister Releases Organised-Crime Report, Calls for Tighter Border Checks
Germany’s 2024 Organised-Crime Report, unveiled on 24 October 2025, links human-smuggling to drug trafficking and prompts the Interior Ministry to prolong border checks and boost airport policing. Businesses should prepare for longer transit times and stricter due-diligence expectations when hiring or transporting foreign workers.
Bavaria Reports Record High in Deportations and Voluntary Departures
Bavaria recorded 2,787 deportations and 11,859 voluntary departures in the first nine months of 2025, a post-2015 high. Officials credit closer federal–state cooperation and new readmission deals. The tougher enforcement climate will increase compliance pressure on employers that hire or post third-country nationals in Bavaria.
Central German airports publish winter schedule; SkyAlps adds Bolzano link
Leipzig/Halle and Dresden Airports will operate expanded yet balanced winter networks from 26 October, with LEJ offering 14 destinations and DRS debuting SkyAlps’ direct Bolzano flights. Strong Frankfurt, Vienna and Istanbul frequencies preserve global links for the region’s automotive and semiconductor clusters.
Munich Airport’s 2025/-26 winter schedule adds 184 destinations across 68 countries
Munich Airport’s winter timetable (26 Oct 2025 – 28 Mar 2026) restores or launches service to 184 cities worldwide, with long-haul growth led by Lufthansa’s return to Riyadh, Johannesburg and São Paulo and Discover’s new Punta Cana route. Combined with new Air Arabia, easyJet and Norwegian services, the Bavarian hub is clawing back global market share just ahead of the EU’s new biometric border system.
EU leaders press for faster implementation of migration pact and ‘visa alignment’ at 23 Oct European Council
The 23 Oct European Council placed migration high on the agenda, backing swift rollout of the new EU migration pact and stressing ‘visa alignment’ with neighbours – a priority for Germany as it tightens Schengen border controls.
Hamburg delivers first Airbus A321XLR to American Airlines, opening new transatlantic options
American Airlines took delivery of the world’s first Airbus A321XLR in Hamburg on 23 Oct, signalling a new era of narrow-body long-haul. German aerospace jobs benefit, and the type could enable non-stop US links to second-tier German cities from 2026.
Ryanair returns to Lake Constance Airport with Palma de Mallorca and Alicante
Ryanair will base aircraft again at Friedrichshafen from 30 March 2026, launching Palma (3/-week) and Alicante (2/-week) services. The low-cost carrier’s return boosts cross-border mobility for businesses in the southern German – Swiss – Austrian region.
Dortmund Airport adds three Wizz Air routes, bringing network to 34 cities
Wizz Air will open Olsztyn-Mazury, Niš and Bratislava from Dortmund this winter, raising the airport’s network to 34 cities. The new links cater to Eastern-European diaspora, ski tourism and Slovak automotive supply chains.
Germany plans new enforcement system for driving bans on foreign EU licence-holders
A bill introduced on 23 Oct implements an EU-court ruling by moving driving-ban markings for foreign EU/EEA licence-holders into Germany’s digital Fahreignungsregister. The reform protects expatriate licences but strengthens roadside enforcement.
EU Working Party on Integration, Migration and Expulsion holds special ‘Mixed Committee’ with EFTA states
An IMEX Mixed Committee on 23 Oct brought Germany together with EFTA partners to iron out biometric-data standards for the new Entry/Exit System, aiming to avoid border bottlenecks once the EU-wide programme is fully operational.