There has been a 254 percent increase in the number of Turkish nationals entering Germany illegally over the first nine months of 2022 compared to the same period of 2021, Turkish Minute reported, citing Deutsche Welle’s Turkish edition (DW Türkçe).
According to the data DW Türkçe received from the Munich Federal Police Directorate 5,362 Turkish nationals illegally arrived in Germany between January and September 2022, compared to 2,531 Turks in the same period of 2021 and 1,629 in 2020.
The number of Turkish citizens accused of people smuggling increased by 538 percent in 2022 compared to 2020, according to the DW report.
The Turks who pay about 6,000 to 8,000 euros to smugglers to flee to Germany use the Balkan route, through Czechia or Austria.
Only 30 percent of political asylum applications from Turkish citizens were accepted in the first eight months of this year, DW said. This rate was 34 percent between January and March.
Thousands of people had to flee Turkey in the aftermath of a coup attempt in July 2016, following which Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) launched a widespread crackdown on non-loyalist citizens under the pretext of an anti-coup fight. These people, some of whom had to flee the country illegally by way of the Aegean Sea or Evros River land border because their passports had been canceled under state of emergency measures taken by the government, applied for asylum in Europe and other countries.
In addition to these people, many other people are trying to move abroad, mostly to Europe, the United States and Canada, for a better life and better career opportunities.
