The debate over migration policy intensified in Berlin on 24 November after new figures showed that 934,553 people whose asylum applications have been finally rejected are still living in Germany—an increase of almost 40,000 compared with summer 2023. The statistics, disclosed in response to a parliamentary question by the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and reported by *Focus Online*, immediately fueled calls for faster returns and tougher border management.
Afghan, Turkish and Kosovar nationals account for the largest shares of the group. Legal scholars quoted in the report note that only a minority of rejected applicants comply voluntarily with departure orders, citing logistical hurdles, humanitarian appeals and lack of readmission agreements with origin countries.
![Germany faces political pressure as number of rejected asylum seekers tops 934,000]()
The data land as Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government maintains temporary checks along all nine land borders until at least March 2026, arguing that external-border weaknesses force Germany to police its internal frontiers. Opposition parties on the centre-left counter that the backlog reflects under-resourced immigration courts and insufficient staffing at the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).
For global mobility and corporate travel managers the immediate impact is indirect but real: prolonged political focus on removals can translate into stricter document checks at airports and land borders, longer queues for all third-country nationals and heightened scrutiny of short-term assignees who switch between business and tourist status. Companies should therefore ensure that travellers carry proof of purpose of stay and residence documentation at all times.
Longer term, the disclosure may accelerate legislative efforts to simplify deportations of convicted criminals or identity refusers—reforms that could alter the compliance landscape for foreign employees who lose their jobs and must swiftly find new sponsorship to remain in the country.
Afghan, Turkish and Kosovar nationals account for the largest shares of the group. Legal scholars quoted in the report note that only a minority of rejected applicants comply voluntarily with departure orders, citing logistical hurdles, humanitarian appeals and lack of readmission agreements with origin countries.
The data land as Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government maintains temporary checks along all nine land borders until at least March 2026, arguing that external-border weaknesses force Germany to police its internal frontiers. Opposition parties on the centre-left counter that the backlog reflects under-resourced immigration courts and insufficient staffing at the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).
For global mobility and corporate travel managers the immediate impact is indirect but real: prolonged political focus on removals can translate into stricter document checks at airports and land borders, longer queues for all third-country nationals and heightened scrutiny of short-term assignees who switch between business and tourist status. Companies should therefore ensure that travellers carry proof of purpose of stay and residence documentation at all times.
Longer term, the disclosure may accelerate legislative efforts to simplify deportations of convicted criminals or identity refusers—reforms that could alter the compliance landscape for foreign employees who lose their jobs and must swiftly find new sponsorship to remain in the country.
