2026-05-04 10:48
publication
2026-05-04 10:48
Germany does not plan to abolish border controls for now, said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. He expressed hope that in the future the migration system in Europe “will be efficient enough” to allow these measures to be abandoned.
– We are currently focusing on maintaining border controls, Dobrindt said on public broadcaster ARD. He added that people trying to enter Germany illegally are constantly turned away at the border.
The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs said that in the long term The German government intends to “make the migration system in Europe efficient enough for us to move away from border controls again.” He noted that “today it is still too early to say when this moment will come.”
Controls are in force at all German borders from September 16, 2024. They were extended three times, most recently in March – until September 2026.
In May 2025, Dobrindt ordered tighter controls introduced by the previous government. Since then, the police can also turn away asylum seekers, with the exception of representatives of particularly vulnerable groups, including: sick people and pregnant women.
The tightening of migration policy, included in the coalition agreement, is the German government's response to the growing social dissatisfaction related to the influx of migrants and growing support for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD). The Bavarian CSU, the CDU's sister party, is most strongly in favor of further limiting migration. The representative of the Bavarian group is Dobrindt.
Random checks will be maintained on travelers, including those crossing the border to commute to work. This may cause delays at border crossings with all nine countries neighboring Germany, including Poland. Every person crossing the border must have an identity document with them.
From Berlin Mateusz Obremski (PAP)
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