In 2016, Afghans were the second largest group both of migrants seeking protection

in Europe and of those formally applying for asylum. Since the peak of the refugee

crisis in late 2015, the number of arrivals – both in general and in terms of Afghans –

have dropped significantly. European countries have made traveling to, staying, and

integrating into the society increasingly complicated. Numbers of asylum applications

widely differed between European countries. Furthermore, the EU and individual

member states have put agreements in place with the Afghan government that allow

»voluntary« and »enforced« returns of large numbers of rejected asylum seekers.

In this comprehensive three-part dispatch, AAN’s co-director Thomas Ruttig looks

at the latest figures and trends as well as changes in policy and the social climate

that have im-pacted the situation for Afghan asylum seekers in Europe. This will

be followed by an overview of the situation in a number of individual European

countries and a case study on Germany, the largest recipient country in Europe for

refugees. The last part will also draw some conclusions.