In 2022, 95,000 refugees and asylum seekers were registered in Berlin

A total of just under 95,000 refugees and asylum seekers were registered in Berlin last year and cared for on arrival. That was more than ever before, the State Office for Refugee Affairs (LAF) announced in a balance sheet for 2022 on Tuesday. "Accommodation in LAF shelters also rose to record levels." About half of the refugees were permanently housed in Berlin, it said.

71,097 refugees from Ukraine had reported to the Tegel arrival center. That was an average of just under 200 people every day. Around 33,000 Ukrainians had been officially registered. The others were forwarded to other federal states. According to estimates, however, 100,000 Ukrainians now live in Berlin. They do not have to apply for asylum because they have another residence status that allows them to work here. Many have been accommodated privately.

According to the report, around 22,500 asylum seekers from other countries also registered at the Berlin arrival center in Reinickendorf. Of these, 14,700 had been accepted in Berlin. That was 35 percent more than in the previous year. The most common countries of origin were Georgia, Syria, Turkey, Afghanistan and Moldova.

LAF President Carina Harms emphasized, "We have accelerated the commissioning of modular new buildings, reactivated disused residential container facilities, examined and rented existing properties throughout Berlin and occupied our existing accommodation more densely. We also used space allotments in hostels and hotels to bridge bottlenecks."

At the end of the year, he said, the first large-scale accommodation was then put into operation in the hangars at the former Tempelhof Airport. "2022 was a tour de force, but there is no time for us to take a breath, because there are still many refugees waiting for a place in Tegel."

Image by Kalhh