Almost 11% of Asylum Applicants Entered Germany on a Schengen Visa in 2023
The number of foreigners entering Germany on Schengen visas or visa-free and then applying for asylum increased significantly last year, raising irregular migration and national security concerns.
According to an investigation carried out by Welt Am Sonntag, in 2023, of 351,915 foreigners who filed first-time asylum applications, 37,329 of them had entered the country on a Schengen visa.
This means that almost 11 per cent of first-time asylum applicants entered Germany for other travel and visiting purposes in 2023 and then decided to remain in the country, Schengen.News reports.
Data further shows that in the first quarter of 2024, one in eight people who applied for asylum entered the country on a Schengen visa.
Taking such figures into account, the German authorities have been criticised for continuing to issue Schengen visas for nationals of third countries that have a high rate of asylum.
As Welt Am Sonntag explains, half of the asylum seekers who entered Germany by a Schengen visa are from Syria, Afghanistan, Türkiye, and Iran.
