Migration: Refugee accommodation in the federal states less busy

The utilization of refugee accommodation in the federal states has decreased significantly in some cases. In the seven anchor centers in Bavaria, around 10,250 of the 12,900 places were recently occupied – that’s 1,250 fewer than a year earlier. In Baden-Württemberg, the number of occupied places fell from an average of 6,700 to 5,000 last year. In North Rhine-Westphalia, around 41 percent of the 6,570 places were occupied in December; at the end of 2023 it was still 49 percent of the 6,970 places there.

In Lower Saxony, out of around 11,650 places, only around 4,250 were recently occupied – although this also includes emergency accommodation. Lower Saxony’s Interior Minister Daniela Behrens described the situation in the state reception authority as “well under control”. Nevertheless, the country is committed to being able to increase capacity to almost 20,000 places within a few weeks if necessary. “At the moment it doesn’t look as if we will have to create these capacities in the foreseeable future, but we are preparing for it,” said the SPD politician.

Lower utilization despite lower capacities

The number of refugees in state facilities in the East is also declining. “Thanks to the reduced number of arrivals, we were able to adjust our capacities in the reception facilities, give up tent locations and, in particular, temporarily take temporary emergency accommodation out of operation,” said the spokeswoman for the state directorate in Saxony, Valerie Eckl. Around 2,500 places were occupied there at the end of the year, and in 2023 there were more than 9,000.

In Saxony-Anhalt, occupancy fell from more than 90 percent to 82 percent, although several accommodations were closed. Capacity was also reduced in Brandenburg, but utilization still fell from 75 to 58 percent. In Thuringia, where a year ago almost all places were occupied (97 percent), in mid-December every third bed was free (64 percent occupancy).

According to the State Office for Refugee Affairs, a good 14,000 people currently live in the reception centers in Berlin, 3,700 of them on the site of the former Tegel Airport. A year ago there were around 300 more places occupied. In Rhineland-Palatinate, around 3,700 of 6,430 places were recently allocated.

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the initial reception centers are 80 percent full. As a rule, 75 percent occupancy is considered full capacity because not all rooms should be fully occupied in order to prevent conflicts.

Hesse is recording increased occupancy: almost 6,500 places were occupied there at the end of December, compared to just under 3,700 a year earlier. But even in Hesse, almost half of the approximately 11,650 available places are still free. The spokesman for the responsible Giessen regional council explains the increase by saying that from autumn 2023, arrivals were increasingly assigned to the municipalities, as the initial reception center was almost full at the time; In 2024, the allocations were reduced disproportionately.

Anyone who wants to apply for asylum in Germany will first be accommodated in the initial reception centers in the federal states. From there the people are distributed among the cities and towns.