The Bureau of Citizenship, Migration and Refugees (Bam f) took an average of 12.2 months to resolve asylum cases in 2025, the longest average duration on record. At the same time, courts were rendering rulings on appeals more quickly, a trend highlighted in the federal government’s response to a question from the Left parliamentary group, as reported by the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”.
According to the Bam f data, 43.5 % of all concluded cases-nearly half-violated the EU rule that a decision must be issued within six months. For about 17 000 pending applications the maximum permissible 21‑month limit under EU law was also exceeded. “It is unacceptable that, for example, refugees from Iran wait on average a year and a half for a Bam f decision” said Clara Bünger, the Left’s spokesperson on migration, to the newspaper.
While the average time to reach a decision on an asylum appeal has fallen sharply, it still stands at 14.3 months, down from 26.5 months in 2021-attributable largely to improved staffing at the courts. In urgent cases, such as applications that appear clearly unfounded, judges decide in only 36.5 days.
Bünger noted that asylum reviews must proceed swiftly yet fairly, warning that the overall decline in protection rates could mean the political push for an “asylum turnaround” may negatively influence Bam f’s decision practice. She also called for the removal of restrictions on asylum seekers’ procedural rights, insisting that “second‑class legal protection is unacceptable”.
In 2025, Bam f finished a record number of “prioritized” cases-those involving applicants from countries with low acceptance rates-almost always in under a month. This aligns largely with the October 2023 guideline from the conference of prime ministers, which requires asylum cases from high‑risk countries to be concluded by the Bam f and by the courts within three months. In these prioritized cases the courts rarely need more than three months either. However, such cases represent only 6.6 % of all asylum proceedings.
The rise in average processing time can be partly explained by the temporary suspension of decisions on refugees from Syria (average 14.1 months). For applicants from countries with low acceptance prospects, Bam f decisions are typically faster. In contrast, refugees from Nigeria (20.4 months), Iran (17.7 months) and Iraq (17.1 months) had to wait particularly long, as no suspension applied.
