1 in 3 EU migrants thinking of leaving Germany

For EU nationals emigrating within Europe, Germany is no longer so strongly associated with affordability, stability and comfortable working conditions. Some are considering leaving.

Germany is losing appeal for EU migrants

A new study by the EU Equal Treatment Office in Germany has found that the federal republic is losing its appeal among EU migrants. While between 400.000 and 700.000 EU nationals immigrate to Germany every year, emigration rates are also high. 

In 2024, the net migration of EU nationals to Germany amounted to just 38.735 people. In 2023, net EU migration to Germany sat at 117.000 people, amounting to a whopping 66,8 percent year-on-year decline.

According to the study, Romanian nationals make up Germany’s largest EU migrant population, followed by Polish nationals, Bulgarians, Italians, Hungarians and Spanish nationals. In 2024, the number of Croatian nationals, Poles and Bulgarians emigrating to Germany fell most significantly, by 30 percent, 21 percent and 19 percent respectively.

What does falling EU immigration mean for Germany?

Amid a record-high worker shortage, particularly in healthcare, construction and public administration, it seems as though the German labour market is losing its pull factors. The trend doesn’t bode well for the German economy. 

A 2025 report by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) found that national economic growth is expected to decline to 0,4 percent per year, and will hit 0 percent by 2029 unless the country welcomes more migrant workers to plug its labour shortage. This includes welcoming EU and non-EU skilled and “non-skilled” workers.

The DIW suggested two broad measures to cushion the blow of Germany’s worker shortage. First, the German government should improve access to affordable childcare and reform the married couples tax break law (Ehegattensplitting) to enable women to work more regularly and into older age.

The DIW warned that “growth potential of Germany’s existing population is limited and cannot stabilise production potential alone. The recruitment of foreign labour is therefore of great importance”.

Prospective immigrants are receiving mixed messages from the CDU/CSU-SPD coalition. While the government has launched a Work-and-Stay Agency, it has committed to deporting “[T]hose who do not integrate, who do not work” rather than supporting further vocational training, and has blocked access to German integration courses, which are vital for integration and job-seeking.

Why do EU migrants want to leave Germany?

According to the EU Equal Treatment Office study, 35 percent of EU migrants said they were thinking about leaving Germany, and 13 percent said they were already making concrete plans to leave.

The study also found that the majority of EU migrants in Germany leave within four years of arriving. What pushes them away? Many cited increasing unaffordability and an unwelcoming culture.

38,8 percent of respondents said they didn’t feel welcome, and 49,4 percent said they experienced discrimination at work. Others cited the difficulty of having qualifications recognised, the lack of progress at work, and the difficulty navigating bureaucracy.

When it comes to discrimination in public institutions, a recent study by the German Centre for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM) supports these sentiments. DeZIM found that EU citizens regularly face unequal treatment in German job centres. 

Another three-year study conducted by the Research Institute Social Cohesion (FGZ) on behalf of the Federal Ministry of the Interior has found that institutional racism is prevalent across practically all authorities and administrative bodies in Germany.

The EU Equal Treatment Office concluded that more must be done to integrate EU migrants into the German labour and housing markets, and to foster a more welcoming culture for EU migrants.