The state of Saxony has decided to fund asylum seekers’ voluntary departure for three months. This decision comes in response to a backlog of thousands of unprocessed voluntary departure requests by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. Saxony will cover the costs of these departures to the Ministry of the Interior in Magdeburg.
A spokeswoman for the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees reported a backlog of unprocessed voluntary departure applications. She mentioned that 5,000 asylum applications aimed at encouraging voluntary departure have been rejected by the Migration Office, and there are 2,000 rejected asylum seekers waiting to leave voluntarily. The Federal Office for Migration and Asylum in Nuremberg also confirmed that the backlog is due to the large number of applications. While the office did not provide specific figures, it emphasized that those wishing to leave the country have the right to do so at any time.
According to the Interior Ministry, Saxony will subsidize voluntary departures from the beginning of June until the end of August, covering travel expenses to certain countries of origin such as Georgia, Moldova, Turkey, and the Western Balkans. Saxony’s decision to fund these voluntary departures aims to expedite the process compared to deportation and reduce costs associated with other services and accommodation.
Since January 2024, the Federal Office for Migration has been responsible for implementing the voluntary departure program, taking over from the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM). Federal state authorities must wait two to six weeks for a decision, and it takes the Federal Office eight to fifteen weeks to process the applications.
According to the Interior Ministry, there were 473 voluntary departures in 2023. This year, from January to May, 206 voluntary departures have already taken place, exceeding the 178 departures recorded during the same period last year.
In Saxony, the number of deportations increased in June, with 300 rejected asylum seekers being deported. Additionally, 5,226 individuals have registered to leave the country, according to the Central Register of Foreigners.
