Relaxed departure rule leads to higher numbers of refugees
Since the end of August, the Ukrainian government has allowed young men up to the age of 22 to leave the country even during a state of war. Previously, this was only possible in exceptional cases. The change is now reflected in the increased number of arrivals in Germany.
According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, an average of 19 Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 22 entered Germany every week until mid-August. In September, the numbers rose to over 1,000, and in October to between 1,400 and 1,800 per week.
According to the Central Register of Foreigners, there were around 1.29 million refugees from Ukraine in Germany at the end of September, of which around 500,000 were men. Since the start of the Russian attack in February 2022, around 438,000 Ukrainians have left Germany again.
Demands from the Union for limitation
Against this backdrop, several CDU/CSU politicians are now calling for the admission of Ukrainian refugees to be limited:
Saxony's Minister President Michael Kretschmer (CDU) refers to the significant increase in arrivals and urges us to take in fewer refugees from Ukraine. "The number of people coming to us from Ukraine has increased dramatically in recent months. A large influx is developing. It is simply not acceptable for us to take in more and more people," he told the Funke media group.
CDU Secretary General Carsten Linnemann also criticized the large influx of young Ukrainian men. "We need Ukrainian soldiers to defend their country," he said. The "sudden influx to Germany" must be stopped.
CSU leader Markus Söder called for the German government and the EU to work towards Ukraine tightening the relaxed exit regulations again. The Union is also discussing changes to the temporary protection status. Söder brought up a possible change to the EU Mass Influx Directive. Without this directive, Ukrainians would have to go through regular asylum procedures.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj about the developments. He asked for more restrictions to be placed on leaving the country. Merz said that "a considerable number of young men" were currently coming to Germany. As military service in Ukraine only begins at the age of 25, there is a risk that men who are urgently needed in the country will leave.
Can Germany limit the admission of Ukrainian refugees?
The key question is: Can Germany limit the admission of Ukrainian refugees? According to the current legal situation, the answer is clearly no.
The reason for this is the EU decision on the temporary protection of refugees from Ukraine, which has been in force since 2022. It is based on the Mass Influx Directive and is implemented in Germany via Section 24 of the Residence Act. It obliges all EU states to grant protection to refugees from Ukraine. The regulation was only recently extended until March 2027.
An indirect restriction - for example through stricter border controls or quota systems for Ukrainian men - would also be legally problematic. This means that Germany may not reject or exclude people seeking protection from Ukraine from the outset. As long as the EU decision applies, all member states must grant protection to Ukrainian refugees.
Fundamental right to asylum under German and EU law
Irrespective of protection in Ukraine, the following applies in principle: Germany must not exclude asylum seekers by imposing a numerical limit.
The fundamental right to asylum (Art. 16a GG) and the individual right to protection under EU law - such as the Asylum Procedures Directive and the Geneva Refugee Convention - do not allow for an upper limit. Every person seeking protection and applying for asylum is entitled to an individual procedure. There are also no regulations at EU level that would allow individual member states to reject asylum seekers above a certain number.
German law: No scope for limiting immigration
Even under German law, there is currently no mechanism by which Germany could independently set a maximum number of Ukrainian asylum seekers.
- § Section 24 AufenthG obliges authorities to issue a residence permit as long as the EU regulations apply.
- People seeking protection from Ukraine must not be turned away for capacity reasons.
- Returns to a war zone would be prohibited by the non-refoulement principle.
EU solidarity mechanism: relief possible - but not through Ukraine refugees
Saxony's Minister President Michael Kretschmer is also calling for Germany to make use of the rules of the EU solidarity mechanism. This mechanism is part of the EU asylum reform (CEAS). It allows countries with particularly high levels of migration not to have to take in any additional asylum seekers from other EU states until the end of 2026.
This step would actually be possible: Germany can apply to Brussels to be temporarily exempted from so-called "relocation" obligations. The EU Commission has already confirmed that Germany is one of the countries heavily burdened by migration.
However, it is important to note that this mechanism only applies to relocations within the EU. It therefore affects refugees who have already received protection in another EU country - not those who come directly from Ukraine.
For people from Ukraine, the EU regulation on temporary protection continues to apply. There are no plans to limit this at national level.
Conclusion
The political demands for a limit on the admission of Ukrainian refugees meet clear legal boundaries. As long as the EU decision on temporary protection applies, Germany can neither set an upper limit nor turn back those seeking protection from Ukraine.
Even stricter national measures would fail due to the primacy of EU law. Relief is only possible via the EU solidarity mechanism.
