Highest number of unauthorised border crossings at EU/Schengen external borders again since 2016, Germany main destination country in 2023

A further significant increase in illegal migration to Europe was recorded in 2023, with Germany proving to be the main destination country in the European Union (EU). In total, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency registered around 380,200 unauthorised border crossings at the EU/Schengen external borders (2022: around 326,300). This is the highest annual number since 2016.

In Germany, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) recorded 266,224 suspected cases of unauthorised entry and residence (Sections 96, 97 AufenthG) in the Police Crime Statistics (PKS), an increase of 33.4 per cent compared to the previous year. Most of the underlying findings were made by the Federal Police.

The main countries of origin were Syria (54,207), Turkey (35,732) and Afghanistan (35,370). In many cases, these unauthorised entries into Germany were preceded by smuggling. Even if only some of the migrants are assisted by smugglers on the final leg of their journey, it is almost impossible to reach the country of destination without using smugglers along the various stages of the journey. In 2023, around 39,700 people checked at the German borders were suspected of having been smuggled into Germany.

Compared to the previous year, more people were smuggled across the EU/Schengen external borders via the Central Mediterranean route and the Eastern Mediterranean route, while the Western Balkans route and the Eastern route were used less frequently. Despite the decrease in migration movements on the Western Balkan route, people detected at the south-eastern borders of Germany were previously mainly smuggled through the Balkan region.

In terms of apprehensions, almost one in two smuggled persons came from Poland (41.9%), about one in three from Austria (29.4%) and about one in five from the Czech Republic (22.5%).

The smuggled persons detected were mainly travelling on foot (37.1 per cent), in vans (25.6 per cent) or in cars (24.3 per cent). The high number of people smuggled on foot in the statistics often indicates prior transport in motor vehicles, so-called drop-offs, also in connection with container smuggling. Container smuggling is the inhumane transport of people in vehicles where there is a high risk to life due to lack of oxygen, dehydration, hypothermia or increased risk of injury in the event of an accident.

A worrying trend in 2023 was the increase in these cases of container smuggling. The number of recorded cases (around 1,200 cases) more than doubled compared to 2022/2023 and the number of people smuggled (around 17,500 people) almost quintupled. Small vans, which are easy to hire and do not require a special driving licence, were the most commonly used vehicles.

The smuggling groups were increasingly willing to take risks and behave more ruthlessly towards the smuggled persons, innocent third parties and the police in order to evade control and thus prosecution.

A significant proportion of suspects registered for smuggling offences under Section 96 of the Residence Act (Aufenthaltsgesetz) – smuggling of aliens – and Section 97 of the Residence Act – smuggling with fatal consequences as well as commercial and gang-related smuggling – came from Syria, Germany, Turkey and Ukraine. As in the previous year, the number of organised criminal groups identified as having smuggling of migrants as their main activity continued to rise, from 49 to 58.

In Germany, the number of registered suspects in the area of migrant smuggling increased by 26.6 per cent, while the number of cases increased by 60.5 per cent, indicating an increase in larger groups within smuggling operations. Messenger services such as Telegram and WhatsApp were predominantly used for communication between smugglers and traffickers. In addition, smuggling organisations used social media to market their services and recruit people for smuggling.

Given the growing challenges posed by smuggling crimes, cross-border cooperation between law enforcement agencies in countries of origin, transit and destination remains crucial. During the year, for example, increased police action in Serbia demonstrated its ability to combat smuggling along the Balkan route through Serbia, the main transit country to Germany.