It’s been reported that many refugees never move into their intended accommodation after registering in Germany. It comes as Berlin tightens up laws regarding asylum.
Germany’s “Süddeutsche Zeitung” daily reported on Friday that last year 13% of registered refugees never went to their planned shelter, equating to more than 130,000 people, DPA reported.
The newspaper based its report on a response from the federal interior ministry, on request of Germany’s Left Party. The ministry listed possible reasons for the refugees’ disappearance as asylum seekers continuing their journey to other countries or submersion into illegality.
According to the ministry, Germany is even less successful in sending refugees back to the EU state responsible for them. German authorities made a request to a European partner to take back refugees for only one in every ten applicants. In 2014, this was the case in every five refugees.
Under the Dublin Regulation, the state responsible for an asylum seeker is the country in which the person first stepped foot on EU soil. This system is set for an overhaul in the coming months, however, as it has proved unworkable. Figures last month showed Greece saw 21 times more migrants arrive on its shores than in January 2015.
Head of Germany’s Federal Office for Migration (BAMF), Frank-Jürgen Weise, also said on Thursday in Berlin that there are currently up to 400,000 people in the country whose identities are unknown to authorities.
