Magdeburg (dpa/sa) – The number of foreigners having to leave the country has increased slightly in Saxony-Anhalt. According to the center list of foreigners, the current number is around 6,600, an Interior Ministry spokesman said. Until the end of November 2021, around 6,450 people who are required to leave the country are still registered. The most important countries of origin are India with 822 people required to leave the country, Russia (467), Afghanistan (426), Benin (411) and Guinea-Bissau (391).

According to the ministry, a total of 153 voluntary departures were registered in the first six months of 2022. According to information, a total of 285 people left voluntarily in 2021.

“The main obstacle to deportation and voluntary departure for people who are obliged to leave the country is the lack of cooperation between the countries of origin regarding those who are obliged to leave the country,” the ministry said earlier in the year. The majority of people obliged to leave the country are former asylum seekers who were rejected.

India – being the most important country of origin – will not issue a single passport replacement document through its embassy in 2021. Those who are required to leave the country without a passport – that is the norm – cannot be deported. In addition, Benin and Guinea-Bissau have closed their embassies in Germany. Other states have very bureaucratic requirements for returns, the ministry said earlier in the year.

© dpa-infocom, dpa:220721-99-103014/2