According to Germany’s Interior Ministry, the number of people deported during the first nine months of this year was approximately 19% lower than during the same period last year.
According to Germany’s Interior Ministry, the number of people deported during the first nine months of this year was approximately 19% lower than during the same period last year. The Federal Ministry of the Interior released the figures in response to a request from the Left Party. According to the report, a total of 14,324 people were deported from Germany between January and September 2026, compared with 17,651 during the corresponding period in 2025. Turkey was the leading destination for deportees, followed by Georgia and Algeria in second and third place, respectively.
The figures indicate that the political situation in Syria continues to make the deportation of Syrian nationals from Germany difficult. Even the return of convicted criminals has faced obstacles. Since the beginning of 2026, only six people have been deported to Syria. In contrast, deportations of Turkish nationals have increased. A total of 2,025 Turkish citizens have been returned to their country so far this year. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the number of foreign nationals voluntarily returning to their home countries from Germany has also risen slightly. This year, 14,140 people received financial or other assistance to return to their countries of origin, compared with 12,263 last year.
Germany does not have a dedicated agency similar to the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which directly handles all deportation cases. Over the past decade, the German government has introduced several reforms aimed at making it easier to deport migrants who, under the bureaucratic system, have “little prospect of being allowed to stay.” The process has been accelerated further in recent years.
Both current Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, have sought to remove legal obstacles to deportations.
In general, migrants who do not have a valid residence permit in Germany, as well as asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected, are required to leave the country within a specified period. Applicants whose asylum claims have been rejected are generally given one month to leave Germany. If they fail to depart within that period, they may be deported. However, certain individuals are granted exemptions and may receive temporary permission to remain in Germany. Such permission is issued when there are obstacles to deportation, including uncertainty about a person's identity or family ties to someone who has temporary residence status or has been granted permission to stay or work in Germany on humanitarian or medical grounds.
Approximately 180,000 people in Germany currently hold this type of temporary permission to stay.
Local immigration authorities make deportation decisions and assess whether any legal obstacles prevent a person from being removed from the country. If no such obstacles exist, a deportation date is set, but the individual concerned is not informed in advance. If someone has previously attempted to evade deportation, or authorities suspect that the person may try to flee, the state can order their detention until deportation is carried out.
Federal Police officers are responsible for enforcing deportation decisions.
In some cases, special aircraft are chartered for particular countries to deport several people at the same time. Police authorities try to accommodate as many deportees as possible on these flights. In 2024, approximately 7,300 of the 20,100 people deported from Germany were returned through specially chartered flights. In many cases, individuals facing possible deportation are first summoned to an immigration office. There, a Federal Police officer informs them of the deportation decision.
Police officers then accompany them to their homes so they can collect their clothes and other essential belongings before taking them directly to the airport. However, in some cases, police officers arrive at people's homes early in the morning and arrest them. Unlike officers of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), German police officers do not wear masks and operate in uniform. They are required to carry their identification cards and must provide their names when asked.
