A total of 1,906 initial asylum applications from Syrians were rejected in October, compared to 163 during the period from January to September, statistics from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) showed on Saturday.
The figures come as BAMF resumed processing “young, able-bodied” male Syrians’ asylum requests at the end of September after suspending almost all such decisions last December following the change in government in Syria.
“In justified individual cases, the Federal Office has also issued full rejections against Syrian nationals,” the BAMF said, referring to cases involving criminals and people considered to pose a potential danger.
The coalition government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) has vowed to take a tough stance on migration in a bid to take the wind out of the sails of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD).
In particular, it has pledged to reject more asylum-seekers in general but particularly those with a criminal record.
Interior MinisterAlexander Dobrindt said in a newspaper interview in September that the government intended to reach an agreement with Syria this year that would allow the deportation of criminals and, later, that of people with no right to residency in Germany.
The plans have been criticized by several human rights and refugee advocacy groups, which say that Syria is still not a safe country to return to.
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also said on Tuesday that the situation in Syria was “worse than in Germany in 1945” following the Second World War, a comment that caused much consternation among his fellow Christian Democrats.
Almost a million Syrians live in Germany, the majority of whom arrived in 2015-2016 as refugees fleeing their country’s civil war.
