Thousands of migrants in Germany have applied for asylum multiple times and return to the country after having been deported, according to a report by German newspaper Die Welt am Sonntag published on Sunday.

There are nearly 5,000 asylum-seekers who have reapplied for asylum after being deported from Germany since 2012, according to the report, which cites official government figures. Some of the asylum-seekers willingly left Germany, knowing deportation was imminent. They then returned to Germany to submit another application for asylum, according to the report.

Read more: Germany: New accusations of police violence in death of asylum-seeker

Asylum-seekers with entry bans 'rarely jailed'

The numbers cited in the report indicate that for 1,023 asylum-seekers currently in Germany, this is the fourth time they have applied for asylum. For 294 it is their fifth, sixth or seventh time.

Asylum-seekers who have been deported and have entry bans are jailed for a few months for re-entering the country, according to the report. Arrests and longer sentences are rare.

Germany receives hundreds of thousands of applications for asylum every year. Some 1.78 million people entered Germany to request asylum between 2010 and 2018, according to the German Office of Federal Statistics.

Authorities said earlier in November that they expected the number of applicants for asylum in 2019 to be lower than in previous years.

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