In 2015, loads of refugees and asylum-seekers flocked to Denmark and the rest of Europe in the wake of devastating conflicts in the Middle East and Africa.
Now, they’re on the move again – this time out of Denmark and south to Germany, according to the German authorities.
The German Federal Ministry of the Interior has registered a significant increase in the number of asylum-seekers rejected in Denmark, who are crossing into Germany via the Danish-German border. The ministry contends that the tougher asylum rules in Denmark are to blame.
READ MORE: Asylum-seeker numbers in Denmark hit decade-low
No exit control
According to the ministry, 1,455 rejected asylum-seekers have travelled illegally into Germany from January to October 2017. In comparison, the figure was at 996 the year before.
It was particularly Afghan, Iraqi and Syrian asylum-seekers who had made their way south after being rejected in Denmark and other Scandinavian countries. Then when encountering the German authorities, they once again seek asylum.
In contrast to Germany, Denmark carries out random checks on people travelling into Denmark at the border with Germany, but there is no control of people leaving Denmark at that same border.
Last year, just under 3,500 people applied for asylum in Denmark – the lowest number registered since 2008, when about 2,400 applied.
