Fewer Georgians Sought Asylum in Germany Last Month

Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has released statistics on asylum seekers. The number of Georgian citizens seeking asylum in Georgia in May 2018 was 176 – dramatically lower than the 700 Georgians who sought asylum in April.  

The number of Georgian citizens seeking asylum in Germany has decreased dramatically in May, compared to the previous data, the statistics from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees of Germany has revealed.

Since January of this year, a total of 2,263 Georgian citizens attempted to claim asylum in Germany, comprising 3.3 percent of the country’s asylum requests. In the EU as a whole, 4,970 Georgians requested asylum in the first quarter of 2018.

Asylum requests in Germany have totaled 68,368 so far in 2018. The highest number of asylum seekers are from Syria – 17,585; Iraq – 6,900 and Niger – 4,794.

Last month, Georgian Minister of Internal Affairs Giorgi Gakharia visited Germany and met with his German counterpart Horst Seehofer to discuss options to reduce asylum seekers from Georgia. Gakharia released a statement after the meeting saying, "The existing practice shows that the possibility of recognizing Georgian citizens as asylum seekers is very low while the recognition of Georgia as a secure country will be a further step forwards in a decrease in the asylum seekers number in the near future.” Both countries agreed to further strengthen cooperation on problems of illegal migration from Georgia and offenses committed by Georgians in the European Union.

In April 2018, Germany announced plans to put Georgia on the list of safe countries, from which no asylum applications will be accepted. Safe country status means Germany does not consider anyone in the country to be persecuted for political reasons. “I believe it is reasonable to recognize Georgia as a safe country, especially when the Georgian government unconditionally supports the decision,” said Stefan Meier, a representative from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Germany.

By Samantha Guthrie

Photo: BBC

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