Decrease in unauthorized entries to Germany via the Belarus route

After an increase this spring, unauthorized entries to Germany via the so-called Belarus route decreased again slightly in June. This is according to an answer from the German government to a question from the AfD parliamentary group. Following 413 arrivals in March and an increase to 865 unauthorized entries in April, the Federal Police reportedly registered 1,125 entries in May by people who had previously stayed in Belarus. In June, police officers then recorded 663 unauthorized entries via this route, according to the German government.

Poland and the European Union accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin and his ally, Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko, of deliberately helping people from crisis regions to enter the EU without permission by providing visas and logistics since 2021. The route leads from Belarus via the EU's external border to Poland.

According to the German government, the federal police registered a total of 3,117 unauthorized entries of people who had taken this route in the first half of this year. In 2023 as a whole, 11,932 people entered Germany via this route according to the Federal Police's police entry statistics.

In six months, 1,140 Afghans arrived via the Belarus route

The largest group among those who came to Germany irregularly via Belarus last year and in the first half of 2024 were people from Afghanistan, followed by people who identified themselves as Syrian nationals. The most common nationalities in the period from January to June 2024 also included Somali, Indian, Iranian and Yemeni. Many of the people entering via this route do not have any documents with them.

In mid-October last year, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) ordered temporary stationary controls at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland and registered them with the European Commission. These have been extended several times since then.