The number of Ukrainians applying for protection in Germany has increased greatly in the past few weeks, according to the German interior ministry.
The surge is primarily due to a significant rise in the number of young Ukrainian men arriving – which has risen tenfold.
“The number of applications from this group has increased from roughly 100 per week to now roughly 1,000 per week”, a ministry spokesperson told German media group Funke.
Altogether, the number of Ukrainian immigrants registered in Germany has risen from 8,000 in May to 11,000 in August and almost 19,000 in September.
The authorities attribute increase to a relaxation of Ukraine’s departure rules for young men. At the end of August, the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky eased the ban for male Ukrainians to leave and allowed young men between 18 and 22 years to exit the war-torn country.
After the Russian invasion in February 2022, Ukraine had effectively banned men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving. The measure was aimed at preventing males from fleeing conscription into the army, which currently applies to all males between 25 and 60.
Another factor incentivising Ukrainians to move to Germany is a recent decision by the Polish Government that cuts social benefits to unemployed Ukrainians in Poland – granting child benefits only to people in work and limiting access to healthcare.
The German interior ministry said it was not clear yet whether the surge in refugees would subside in time.
Between February 2022 and this month, a total of 1.3 million Ukrainians registered as war refugees in Germany. The ministry, though, said that around 450,000 of them had subsequently left Germany again.
Ukrainian refugees in Germany enjoy immediate access to the labour markets as well as social benefits, thanks to a special regulation in German law, as opposed to other asylum seekers.
In August, the German Government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz agreed to cut state benefits for newly-arrived Ukrainian refugees.
