Germany expects fewer than 300,000 refugees this year

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, smiles during a joint press conference with Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, right, in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016. (Roman Vondrous/CTK via AP) (The Associated Press)

Migrants and refugees fleeing Libya on board of a dinghy sail at the Mediterranean sea toward the Italian coasts, about 17 miles north of Sabratha, Libya, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016. European nations have tightened border controls, shut down the Balkan route used by hundreds of thousands of people, negotiated an agreement with Turkey to curb new arrivals and taken other measures to curb the influx of migrants. But many problems still remain with Europe's uneven response to the crisis. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) (The Associated Press)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel , left, is questioned during an interview by ARD TV presenters Tina Hassel and Thomas Baumann, right, in Berlin, Germany, Sunday Aug. 28, 2016. (Rainer Jensen/dpa via AP) (The Associated Press)

Germany's top migration official expects fewer than 300,000 refugees will come to the country this year.

Frank-Juergen Weise says his agency is planning for between 250,000 and 300,000 new arrivals in 2016.

The head of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said in an interview published Sunday that the number of people who came to Germany during the height of the refugee crisis last year was lower than previously thought.

Weise told the weekly Bild am Sonntag the new figure for 2015, which excludes duplicate registrations and people who traveled on to other countries, is lower than one million.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has come under heat by some in Germany for her welcoming stance to migrants and her motto "we will manage" the influx.