Current Questions on Migration (August / September 2025)

The short survey on current questions on migration was conducted by the opinion research institute Verian on behalf of the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government. During the survey period from August 27, 2025, to September 2, 2025, German-speaking people aged 14 and older were interviewed by telephone (CATI) about their attitudes toward immigration, refugees, and the German government´s migration policy. Respondents were selected using a multi-stage random sample as part of a multi-topic survey that included landline and mobile phone numbers (dual-frame sample). Agreement with statements on immigration to Germany (the integration of immigrants into German society has been successful overall, there are already so many immigrants living in Germany that no more can be accepted, immigrants are causing a sharp rise in crime in Germany, I think it´s good that immigration is making Germany more culturally diverse, Germany needs immigration, I think it is good that Germany describes itself as a country of immigration); satisfaction with various aspects of the federal government´s immigration policy (dealing with the population´s concerns about immigration, how the goals and measures of immigration policy are explained to the population, efforts to date to integrate immigrants into the German labor market, efforts to date to find a European solution for immigration to Europe); concerns about the current number of refugees in Germany; short-term and long-term forecasts regarding the advantages or disadvantages for Germany of accepting refugees; attitudes toward the admission of certain groups of refugees in Germany (refugees fleeing war or civil war, those who have fled their home country due to famine or natural disasters, those who are persecuted for political or religious reasons, those who have fled because they have no work and no means of support in their home country); development of the number of asylum applications in Germany in the first half of 2025 compared to the first half of 2024; development of the number of deportations in Germany in the first half of 2025 compared to the first half of 2024; perception of problems related to refugees in the local area; Identification of specific problems in the local area (open question, coded answers); opinion on the extension of border controls at Germany´s state borders; assessment of the current border controls at Germany´s state borders (effectively restrict immigration to Germany, lead to other countries also controlling their borders better, can combat smuggling gangs, are too expensive, are incompatible with EU law, burden commuters); opinion on the planned change to replace the citizen´s income for refugees from Ukraine who have entered Germany since April 2025 with lower benefits, as for asylum seekers from other countries (correct, should also apply to Ukrainian refugees who came to Germany earlier, generally reject the change). Demography: sex; age; education; employment; household size; number of people in the household aged 14 and over; party preference in the next federal election; voting eligibility; net household income (grouped), mobile phone vs. landline; internet use. The following were also coded: respondent number; interview date; location size (BIK location size and political location size); federal state; East/West region; weight.