The next German government, likely to be led by the centre-right CDU, is expected to be tougher on migration.
Germany has suspended the admission of refugees through a United Nations programme, according to a document seen by the Reuters news agency, as a new conservative-led coalition government prepares to take office.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that the Federal Ministry of the Interior had made the decision as negotiations between the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) continue, with both sides likely to agree on a tougher migration and asylum policy.
The German dpa news agency also reported that the Interior Ministry and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had confirmed news of the suspension.
Migration has been a contentious issue in Germany, the third largest refugee-hosting country in the world, with 2.5 million refugees, including more than one million refugees from Ukraine. But a growing number of German voters want the country to accept fewer migrants.
Immigration and asylum were hotly discussed before February’s German elections in which the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) doubled its vote share after several violent attacks blamed on refugees or asylum seekers.
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The issue has been discussed as part of the coalition negotiations between the CDU and the SPD, with the CDU pushing for asylum seekers to be turned away from Germany’s borders on the grounds they have already passed through a safe country.
The two sides have struck a preliminary agreement to end voluntary federal admission programmes for refugees such as the UN programme – the only one currently active – and not to launch any new ones, according to the document seen by Reuters.
Since 2016, Germany has participated in a European Union resettlement scheme that accepts refugees selected by UNHCR. Most come from Turkiye, Egypt, Jordan or Kenya.
The Interior Ministry said 4,711 people had arrived in Germany through the programme since 2024, out of the 13,000 refugees that Germany has promised the European Commission it would take in for 2024 and 2025 combined.
Despite the suspension, admissions that are already well advanced, with concrete commitments, will go ahead, a ministry spokesperson said.
On Monday, Germany said it no longer took top spot in the European Union for new asylum applications, local media outlets reported, citing EU data that put France and Spain ahead.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser was quoted as saying that the latest figures reflected measures taken to restrain “irregular migration towards Europe as a whole as well as to Germany itself”.