Migration: Deutlich mehr freiwillige Ausreisen als Abschiebungen
Viele ausreisepflichtige Ausländer verlassen Deutschland freiwillig. Abschiebungen sind teuer und scheitern häufig - etwa, weil der Pilot Bedenken hat.
In the first half of the year, there were more voluntary departures than deportations from Germany, according to statistics released by the federal government following a parliamentary inquiry from the Left faction. A total of 17,892 foreigners left the country, as evidenced by border crossing certificates, while only 9,276 received federal funding to voluntarily leave.
The number of deportations decreased by 18.2% compared to the previous year, mainly due to a significant reduction in asylum applications since early 2025. Among the 259,000 people obligated to leave Germany, around 60% were rejected asylum seekers. Voluntary departures can also include unemployed workers, tourists with expired visas, or students who did not obtain a new residence permit.
Flight refusal by pilots increased by 280 cases in the first half of 2026 compared to the previous year. In 56 cases, medical concerns were cited as the reason for pilot resistance. The use of physical force was documented in 786 deportations, typically involving handcuffs and restraints. The most expensive deportation was from Leipzig/Halle Airport to Pakistan, costing around 518,000 euros, financed partly by the EU's Frontex border protection agency.
Two deportations to Afghanistan in April and June also cost over 300,000 euros each, without Frontex financial support. The federal police received around 1.46 million euros in fines from airlines for transporting unauthorized travelers, with each person fined between 1,000 and 5,000 euros.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
