The ruling is a setback for Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), who had ordered stricter border controls and rejections shortly after taking office at the beginning of May.
Asylum seekers from Somalia rejected
The case centers on three people from Somalia who arrived in Germany by train from Poland at the beginning of May 2025. During a check by the federal police in Frankfurt (Oder) , they expressed their wish to apply for asylum, according to the court. Nevertheless, they were sent back to Poland on the same day. The reason given by the police: they had entered the country from a "safe third country".
The Berlin Administrative Court has now ruled that this rejection was unlawful. The so-called Dublin procedure should have been initiated first. This checks which EU country is responsible for the asylum procedure. According to the court, an asylum application should not be ignored without a procedure.
Somalia: Not a safe country of origin
Important for the individual case: Somalia is not a safe country of origin according to the German Asylum Act. According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), only Ghana and Senegal are classified as safe countries in Africa. The Federal Foreign Office also warns against traveling to Somalia.
In 2024, a fact-finding mission organized by the BAMF came to similar conclusions: The security and human rights situation in Somalia remains extremely unstable.
Dublin procedure: What applies at German borders?
The so-called Dublin procedure determines which EU member state is responsible for processing an asylum application - usually the EU country in which a refugee was first registered. It is intended to prevent multiple applications and clearly regulate responsibilities.
Important: The Dublin procedure is not automatically initiated at the border, but only after an asylum application has been submitted in Germany. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) then checks whether Germany is responsible at all according to the rules of the Dublin III Regulation.
To do this, the BAMF collects information on the travel route, among other things, and compares the data with the EURODAC database. If fingerprints from another EU country are already stored there or if there are other indications - such as a previous asylum application or a visa issued - the BAMF can initiate a Dublin procedure and send the applicant back to the responsible EU country.
However, mere transit through another EU country is not sufficient to establish its jurisdiction. In the absence of such evidence, the proceedings remain in Germany.
Court: No emergency - no exception to EU law
The Administrative Court based its decision in this case on the fact that the German government cannot invoke a national emergency or Article 72 TFEU to circumvent the Dublin procedure. This EU clause allows exceptions in the event of a threat to public security - however, according to the court, there was insufficient evidence of such a threat.
Interior Minister Dobrindt defends border policy
Despite the court ruling, Interior Minister Dobrindt announced that he would stick to his course. The ruling was an "individual decision" in a special case and did not require any immediate changes to the current border policy, he told media representatives in Berlin.
Dobrindt went on to explain that the Somali applicants had already tried to enter the country several times without applying for asylum and had only applied for protection on their third attempt.
Federal government asylum policy: strict course since May 2025
When he took office on May 7, 2025, Dobrindt adopted a much stricter course in migration, asylum and border policy. Among other things, he instructed the border police to turn back asylum seekers at the border. Until then, this measure only applied to people without an asylum application or with an entry ban. Exceptions now only apply to particularly vulnerable groups such as pregnant women or children.
With this course, Dobrindt wants to implement key points from the coalition agreement of the new federal government (CDU/CSU and SPD). The "limitation and control" of migration is a central focus of this agreement.
Conclusion: What does the ruling mean for asylum seekers at German borders?
The ruling by the Berlin Administrative Court sends a clear signal: anyone who applies for asylum in Germany and does not come from a country of origin classified as safe must not simply be turned away without an examination.
When an asylum application is made, Germany must first apply the so-called Dublin procedure to determine which EU country is responsible. A blanket rejection is not permitted as long as this procedure has not been carried out.
However, it is important to note that the Dublin procedure does not have to take place inside the country. It can be carried out directly at the border or in an area close to the border. Asylum seekers have no legal right to enter Germany simply because they are applying for asylum.
