Illegal entries into Germany halve over two years, border police say

The number of unauthorized entries into Germany has halved over the past two years, according to figures released by the border police on Thursday.

The police recorded 62,526 illegal entries across Germany’s land, air and sea borders in 2025.

That compares with 83,572 in 2024 and 127,549 in 2023, when monthly figures at times exceeded 20,000. This December, the number fell to just under 4,600.

Since mid-September 2024, police controls have been reinstated at all German land borders in a bid to curb illegal crossings by migrants.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt intensified the controls in May, after Chancellor Friedrich Merz came to power at the head of a conservative-led coalition.

Since then, border police have also been instructed to turn back asylum seekers, with exceptions for vulnerable groups such as the sick or pregnant women.

Border controls are generally not permitted within the Schengen free-travel area, which includes most EU states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, but exceptions can be made for security threats or other public crises.