Police register significantly fewer unauthorized entries

Last year, the federal police in Saxony registered a good two thirds fewer people entering the country without authorization than in 2023. According to a statement, the Pirna Federal Police Directorate recorded around 9,800 cases in 2024. In the previous year, the figure was still around 32,500.

This continues the decline since the introduction of controls at Saxony's borders with Poland and the Czech Republic in October 2023. The number of unauthorized entries had previously peaked at more than 7,400 in September 2023. In 2024, most unauthorized entries were registered in March (around 1,400). The fewest unauthorized entries were recorded in November (around 450).

Nationwide 83,000 unauthorized entries

The Federal Police also recorded a significant decrease nationwide. According to a statement, around 83,000 people who entered Germany without permission were registered at the new German borders. From January to June 2023, there were around 127,500 unauthorized entries. This means that the number fell by around a third.

Controls at all German borders since September

The federal police have been stepping up controls at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland since mid-October 2023. Checks were already introduced at the German-Austrian land border in the fall of 2015, with the borders with France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark added last September. Not all individual travelers will be checked, but everyone must expect to be checked.

The police speak of unauthorized entry if a foreigner wants to cross the border without a valid residence permit. According to the German government, refoulement is only permitted if someone does not apply for asylum or if they are subject to a temporary ban on re-entry. This is the case, for example, if someone has previously been deported or for people who come from so-called safe countries of origin if their asylum application has already been rejected as "manifestly unfounded".