Nearly a third of migrants claiming to be Syrian are not telling the truth about their nationality, German officials conceded yesterday.

The country has become Europe’s top destination for asylum seekers after Chancellor Angela Merkel said it would admit all those fleeing Syria even if they had come via other EU countries.

Up to a million newcomers are now expected to arrive as the country experiences the biggest migrant influx since World War II.

Refugees queue at the compound outside the Berlin Office of Health and Social Affairs as they wait for their registration in Berlin this week. Germany has become Europe's top destination for asylum seekers

Migrants and refugees line up as they wait to cross the border from Austria to Germany, near Freilassing. Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that Germany would admit all those fleeing Syria even if they had come via other EU countries

But a Berlin official today revealed they now think 30 per cent of those claiming to be from Syria are not telling the truth.

‘It’s an estimate based on the observations of officials on the ground, especially the federal police,’ the interior ministry spokesman said.

EU border guard agency Frontex has warned a market in fake Syrian passports has sprung up, particularly in Turkey, to help migrants and refugees enter the EU.

The United Nations said today that it could see no easing of the flow of refugees into Europe with 8,000 arrivals daily.

Officials admitted problems now facing governments may turn out to be only ‘the tip of the iceberg’.

Hungary, which lies in the path of the largest migration wave Europe has seen since World War Two, said it was seek-ing support to halt an influx from Croatia after sealing its border with Serbia by building a 3.5-metre-high steel fence.

A young refugee waits at the rail station in Freilassing, southern Germany. The country now expects to welcome up to a million newcomers

Refugees and migrants wait at the compound outside the Berlin Office of Health and Social Affairs this week. A Berlin official today revealed they now think 30 per cent of those claiming to be from Syria are not telling the truth

Migrants and refugees rest on beds at an improvised temporary shelter in a sports hall in Hanau, Germany, yesterday. EU border guard agency Frontex has warned a market in fake Syrian passports has sprung up, particularly in Turkey, to help migrants and refugees enter the EU

Turkish volunteers living in Berlin give away water bottles and snacks to migrants and refugees queuing at the compound outside the Berlin Office of Health and Social Affairs

Afghanistan and Pakistan refugees inside a tent shared by more than 60 men at the refugee registration center for the German state of Hesse in Giessen, 40km southwest of Frankfurt

Speaking in Geneva, Amin Awad, regional refugee coordinator for the UN refugee agency UNHCR, the body’s past warnings on the scale of the problem had not been taken seriously.

‘I don’t see it abating, I don’t see it stopping. If anything, it gives an indication perhaps that this is the tip of the iceberg.’

Dominik Bartsch, the UN’s deputy humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, said 10 million people were expected to need humanitarian support by the end of the year in that country, where 3.2 million were already displaced.

He said the United Nations was planning for the displacement of 500,000 people from the Iraqi city of Mosul if Iraqi forces launch an attempt to recapture it from Islamic State.

EU leaders have pledged at least 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) for Syrian refugees in the Middle East and closer cooperation to stem migrant flows into Europe at a summit described as less tense than feared after weeks of feuding.

The greater number of asylum seekers reaching Europe, many on flimsy dinghies crossing the Mediterranean or on hazardous journeys hidden in trucks, are from Syria or Iraq. Others are from Afghanistan, Pakistan and African countries including Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia.

Refugees rest in a former furniture factory after crossing the border from Austria in Freilassing, southern Germany. EU leaders have pledged at least 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) for Syrian refugees in the Middle East

The greater number of asylum seekers reaching Europe, many on flimsy dinghies crossing the Mediterranean or on hazardous journeys hidden in trucks, are from Syria or Iraq