Federal Government
Duration of asylum procedures decreased
Asylum procedures in Germany lasted an average of 6.8 months in 2023. The year before it was 7.6 months. photo
© Uli Deck/dpa
Asylum seekers no longer have to wait as long until their application is decided. Asylum court procedures are also somewhat quicker. But there are huge differences between the federal states.
The length of court proceedings for complaints against an asylum decision has also fallen significantly by a good five months in 2023, according to the answer, which is also available to the German Press Agency. However, the procedures still take a very long time, with an average of 20.7 months (2022: 26 months). The duration varies greatly from state to state. In Rhineland-Palatinate it is five months and in Saarland it is 8.9 months, on the other hand in Brandenburg it is almost 39 months. In Hesse (31.5 months) and Lower Saxony (24.2 months), the average duration of the procedure is more than two years.
More staff required
Bünger called for “better staffing and organization of the administrative courts, in particular to reduce the length of legal proceedings”. She told the RND: “Long asylum procedures are torture for refugees because they prevent them from arriving quickly and keep people in uncertainty. It cannot be the case that asylum seekers have to wait an average of one and a half years until their status is clear.”
However, speed should not come at the expense of quality or even the procedural rights of asylum seekers, she warned. It is therefore important, in addition to sufficient staffing at the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, for refugees to be well prepared for the hearing so that they can fully present their reasons for asylum. In the best case scenario, misunderstandings and lengthy legal proceedings could be avoided in this way. Bünger demanded that the federal government must provide sufficient financial resources for comprehensive, independent advisory services.