German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said Berlin was considering, together with Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, Greece and the European Commission, establishing special centres for the swift return and deportation of migrants who have no right to remain. The proposal is part of European efforts to develop mechanisms for implementing return decisions and tighten measures against irregular migration.
Germany considers fast-track return centres
Speaking at a news conference after a ministerial meeting on migration in Munich, Dobrindt said Germany was working on new rules to regulate irregular migration. He said the rules would include speeding up the return to their countries of origin of people who had received removal orders, and improving the effectiveness of procedures for enforcing those decisions.
The minister stressed that the proposed centres were still under consideration and that discussions would continue at future ministerial meetings. The participants have not yet reached the stage of starting operations or deciding where the centres would be located and which groups they would cover. No final implementation arrangements for the project were announced during the Munich conference.
Irregular migration to Europe declines
At the same conference, EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner said the number of irregular migrants arriving in Europe had fallen by 55% in recent months, while the number of asylum applications had declined by about one-third. Brunner attributed the drop to tighter border controls and stronger cooperation among EU countries.
Despite the decline, Brunner said Europe still needed additional tools to increase the rate at which return decisions are enforced. He called for the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, known as Frontex, to be given a broader mandate and greater powers, enabling it to support member states more quickly and on a larger scale in protecting external borders and combating migrant-smuggling networks.
Expanding European cooperation on returns
Dobrindt said the Munich meeting also discussed implementing the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, as well as strengthening cooperation with countries of origin and transit countries. This comes as part of a European drive to link border-control measures with partnerships that help return people who do not meet the requirements for protection or residence.
Responding to a question about Syrians, Germany’s interior minister said Berlin distinguished between three groups: people convicted of serious crimes, others whose applications had been rejected and who had no legal prospect of remaining, and people integrated into society and the labour market. He added that Germany sought to return members of the first group, encourage voluntary returns among the second, and provide residence and integration pathways for the third in accordance with the applicable rules.
The discussions come as a number of European countries move to tighten return policies. However, establishing centres for swift returns and deportations remains dependent on reaching legal and administrative understandings among the participating countries, as well as making arrangements with countries of origin or third countries that would receive people subject to return decisions.
Impact of return policies on Germany’s labour market
In another aspect of integration, an earlier report examined the experience of Syrian doctors who sought refuge in Germany and had to complete degree-recognition procedures, language tests and licensing requirements before entering the labour market. Germany’s need for doctors in several specialities created opportunities for these professionals, but practising medicine remained dependent on overcoming administrative and professional obstacles.
The potential impact of any large-scale return of Syrians extends beyond residence and asylum issues to Germany’s labour market, particularly in sectors facing staff shortages. Syrians are the largest group among foreign doctors working in Germany, with more than 5700 Syrian doctors employed in German hospitals, according to data from 2024 cited by the German Hospital Federation.
The deputy head of the German Hospital Federation said Syrian medical staff were highly important to the country’s healthcare system. By contrast, the German economic research institute ifo warned that the return of large numbers of Syrian refugees could reduce the productive capacity of the German economy and worsen skilled labour shortages.
The legal and social circumstances of Syrians in Germany vary between those whose cases remain linked to protection applications or return decisions and those who have settled in the country and integrated into society and the labour market. This disparity places the interior minister’s remarks within a broader debate that extends beyond deportation to include residence, integration, naturalisation and the needs of the economy.
The latest data from Germany’s Federal Statistical Office show that 65,774 people who held Syrian nationality acquired German citizenship during 2025, making them the largest group among people with previous nationalities recorded in naturalisation data.
Their average period of residence in Germany before acquiring citizenship was 8 years, reflecting the movement of a large section of them into a more stable legal status.
