Archive:Asylum quarterly report

Data extracted on 11 December 2019.

Planned article update: March 2020.

Highlights

First-time asylum applicants up 12 % in Q3 2019 compared with Q2 2019.

In the 3rd quarter of 2019, 41 % of first instance decisions on asylum applications taken by EU Member States were positive.

This article describes recent developments in relation to numbers of asylum applicants and first instance decisions on asylum applications in the European Union (EU). Asylum is a form of international protection given by a state on its territory. It is granted to a person who is unable to seek protection in his/her country of citizenship and/or residence, in particular for fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.

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Main trends in the number of asylum applicants

The number of first-time asylum applicants^[1] in the EU-28 increased by 12 % in the third quarter of 2019 compared with the same quarter of 2018 and compared with the second quarter of 2019. As such, the number of persons seeking asylum from non-EU countries in the EU-28 during the third quarter of 2019 amounted to 166 400 (Figure 1, Table 2).

The number of first-time asylum applicants in the EU-28 accounted for 92 % of the total number of asylum applicants (181 200), including repeated applicants, recorded in the third quarter of 2019 (Figure 1, Table 2).

Figure 1: Asylum applicants, EU-28, between Q1 2014 and Q3 2019 - Source: Eurostat (migr_asyappctzm)

Where do asylum applicants come from?

Citizens of 148 countries, as well as stateless persons, sought asylum for the first time in the EU in the third quarter of 2019. Syrian, Afghan and Venezuelan were the top 3 citizenships of asylum seekers, lodging 20 900, 14 400 and 9 600 applications respectively (Table 1).

Table 1: First-time asylum applicants in the EU-28, 30 main citizenships, Q3 2018 – Q3 2019 - Source: Eurostat (migr_asyappctzm)

Venezuelans (5 100 more applicants compared with the third quarter of 2018) contributed most to the overall increase in first-time asylum applicants in absolute terms, followed by Colombians (4 800 more) and Afghans (3 200 more). By contrast, the number of asylum applicants decreased most in absolute terms for citizens of Iraq (2 700 fewer), Palestine (800 fewer) and Iran (600 fewer) (Table 1).

The most substantial relative decrease in the number of asylum applicants in the EU in the third quarter of 2019 compared with the same quarter of 2018 was recorded for Palestinians (36 % fewer), Iraqis (26 % fewer) and Sudanese (19 % fewer). By contrast, Peru (360 % more), Columbia (201 % more), Honduras (146 % more), Venezuela (114 % more) and El Salvador (96 % more) were the countries of citizenships which increased most in relative terms in the third quarter of 2019 compared with the same quarter of 2018 (Figure 2, Table 1).

Figure 2: First-time asylum applicants by citizenship, EU-28, relative change between Q3 2018 and Q3 2019 - Source: Eurostat (migr_asyappctzm), see country codes

Where do asylum applicants go to?

The highest number of first-time asylum applicants in the third quarter of 2019 was registered in Germany (with 37 300 first-time applicants, or 22 % of all first-time applicants in the EU Member States), followed by France (30 500, or 18 %), Spain (25 800, or 16 %), Greece (17 600, or 11 %) and the United Kingdom (11 600, or 7 %). These five Member States together account for almost three fourths of all first-time applicants in the EU-28 (Table 2).

Table 2: Asylum applicants, Q3 2018 – Q3 2019 - Source: Eurostat (migr_asyappctzm)

Trends in the number of asylum applicants varied from country to country in the third quarter of 2019 compared with the same quarter of 2018 (Table 2). Germany (with 4 700 fewer applicants) was the country with the largest absolute decrease in the number of first-time applicants, followed by Italy (1 800 fewer applicants) and Denmark (500 fewer applicants). By contrast, in Spain the number of asylum seekers increased by 13 100, in France by 3 200 and in Sweden by 3 000 in the third quarter of 2019 compared with the same quarter of 2018.

In relative terms, Denmark (45 % fewer), Estonia (31 % fewer), Luxembourg and Italy (21 % and 17 % fewer respectively) recorded the largest relative decreases in first-time asylum seekers. Among the countries with more than 10 000 applicants in the third quarter of 2018, only Italy and Germany recorded relative decreases (17 % and 11 % fewer respectively) in the third quarter of 2019 compared with the same quarter of 2018. By contrast, Croatia (180 % more), Malta (143 % more), Slovakia and Spain (110 % and 103 % more) recorded the largest relative increases of first-time asylum seekers in the third quarter of 2019 compared with the same quarter of 2018 (Figure 3).

Figure 3: First-time asylum applicants, relative change between Q3 2018 and Q3 2019 - Source: Eurostat (migr_asyappctzm), see country codes

Syrian, Afghan and Venezuelan were the top 3 citizenships of asylum seekers. Syrian and Afghan were the main citizenship of asylum seekers in six EU Member States, while Venezuelan, although among the top 3, was the main citizenship in only one EU Member State, namely Spain (Table 3). Of the 20 900 Syrians who applied for the first time for asylum in the EU in the third quarter of 2019, 49 % were registered in Germany (10 400) while 89 % of 9 600 Venezuelans applied for asylum in Spain (8 600). Of the 14 400 Afghans, 35 % (5 100) applied for the first time for asylum in Greece. (Table 4).

Table 3: Five main citizenships of first-time asylum applicants, 3rd quarter 2019 - Source: Eurostat (migr_asyappctzm)

Table 4: Thirty main citizenships of first-time asylum applicants by destination country in the EU 28, 3rd quarter 2019 - Source: Eurostat (migr_asyappctzm)

Compared with the population of each Member State, the highest rate of registered first-time applicants during the third quarter of 2019 was recorded in Cyprus (3 305 first-time applicants per million population), Malta (2 691) and Greece (1 645). By contrast, the lowest rates were observed in Slovakia (12 applicants per million population), Hungary (15 applicants per million population) and Poland (18 applicants per million population). In the third quarter of 2019, there were in total 324 first-time asylum applicants per million population in the EU as a whole (Table 2).

Decisions on asylum applications

During the third quarter of 2019, 143 000 first instance decisions^[2] were made by the national authorities of EU Member States. Among them, 41 % were positive (i.e. granting a type of protection status) (Table 5).

Table 5: First instance decisions by outcome and recognition rates, 3rd quarter 2019 - Source: Eurostat (migr_asydcfstq)

Germany issued by far the most total first instance decisions^[3] during the third quarter of 2019 (38 000 decisions), followed by France (28 300), Italy (23 100), Spain (18 300), Greece (8 300) and the United Kingdom (7 000) (Figure 4). These six Member States issued together 86 % of all first instance decisions granted in the EU-28. For more detailed information about the distribution of decision outcomes please refer to Table 6.

Figure 4: First instance decisions by outcome, selected Member States, 3rd quarter 2019 - Source: Eurostat (migr_asydcfstq)

Table 6: First instance decisions by citizenship and outcome, selected Member States, 3rd quarter 2019 - Source: Eurostat (migr_asydcfstq)

Most first instance decisions in the EU-28 were issued to Syrians (18 700), followed by Venezuelans (13 300) and Afghans (8 900) (Table 7, Figure 5).

Syrians received the highest number of decisions granting protection status in the EU Member States, including protection based on national legislations (15 800 positive first instance decisions, or 84 % rate of recognition^[4]). Among the 30 main citizenships of asylum applicants for which the highest number of decisions were issued in the EU-28, the highest recognition rate of 98 % was observed for Venezuelans (of 13 300 first instance decisions, 13 100 were positive) (Table 7).

For more detailed information on decision outcomes please refer to Table 8.

Table 7: First instance decisions by outcome and recognition rates, 30 main citizenships of asylum applicants granted decisions in the EU-28, 3rd quarter 2019 - Source: Eurostat (migr_asydcfstq)

Figure 5: First instance decisions in the EU-28 by outcome, selected citizenships, 3rd quarter 2019 - Source: Eurostat (migr_asydcfstq)

Table 8: First instance decisions by destination country and outcome in the EU-28, selected citizenships of asylum applicants, 3rd quarter 2019 - Source: Eurostat (migr_asydcfstq)

Data sources

The data used for this publication are provided to Eurostat by the interior and justice ministries or immigration agencies of the Member States and EFTA countries. Data on asylum applications are collected monthly while data on first instance decisions are collected quarterly. Data are based entirely on relevant administrative sources.

Apart from statistics on first asylum applicants, these data are supplied in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of the Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 of 11 July 2007 on Community statistics on migration and international protection. All data presented in this publication are rounded to the nearest 5, and are provisional (except as otherwise stated) and may be subject to change.

Context

The Directorate-General Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME) is responsible for developing EU policies on asylum.

The 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees (as amended by the 1967 New York Protocol) has, for over 60 years, defined who is a refugee, and laid down a common approach towards refugees that has been one of the cornerstones for the development of a common asylum system within the EU.

Since 1999, the EU has worked towards creating a common European asylum regime in accordance with the Geneva Convention and other applicable international instruments. A number of directives in this area have been developed. The four main legal instruments on asylum — all recently recast — are:

the Qualification Directive 2011/95/EU on standards for the qualification of non-EU nationals and stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection;
the Asylum Procedures Directive 2013/32/EU on common procedures for granting and withdrawing international protection;
the Reception Conditions Directive 2013/33/EU laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection;
the Dublin Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or stateless person.

The Hague programme was adopted by heads of state and government on 5 November 2004. It puts forward the idea of a common European asylum system (CEAS), in particular, it raises the challenge to establish common procedures and uniform status for those granted asylum or subsidiary protection. The European Commission’s policy plan on asylum (COM(2008) 360 final) was presented in June 2008 which included three pillars to underpin the development of the CEAS:

bringing more harmonisation to standards of protection by further aligning the EU Member States’ asylum legislation;
effective and well-supported practical cooperation;
increased solidarity and sense of responsibility among EU Member States, and between the EU and non-member countries.

With this in mind, in 2009 the European Commission made a proposal to establish a European Asylum Support Office (EASO). The EASO supports EU Member States in their efforts to implement a more consistent and fair asylum policy. It also provides technical and operational support to EU Member States facing particular pressures (in other words, those EU Member States receiving large numbers of asylum applicants). The EASO became fully operational in June 2011 and has worked to increase its capacity, activity and influence, working with the European Commission and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

In May 2010, the European Commission presented an action plan for unaccompanied minors (COM(2010) 213 final), who are regarded as the most exposed and vulnerable victims of migration. This plan aims to set-up a coordinated approach and commits all EU Member States to grant high standards of reception, protection and integration for unaccompanied minors. As a complement to this action plan, the European Migration Network has produced a comprehensive EU study on reception policies, as well as return and integration arrangements for unaccompanied minors.

In December 2011, the European Commission adopted a Communication on ‘Enhanced intra-EU solidarity in the field of asylum’ (COM(2011) 835 final). This provided proposals to reinforce practical, technical and financial cooperation, moving towards a better allocation of responsibilities and improved governance of the asylum system in the EU, namely through:

introducing an evaluation and early warning mechanism to detect and address emerging problems;
making the supporting role of the EASO more effective;
increasing the amount of funds available and making these more flexible, taking into account significant fluctuations in the number of asylum seekers;
developing and encouraging the relocation of beneficiaries of international protection between different EU Member States.

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Notes

↑ First-time applicant for international protection is a person who lodged an application for asylum for the first time in a given Member State. The indicator 'First-time asylum applicants' excludes repeated applicants i.e. persons applying for asylum more than once in one country and therefore more accurately presents the number of persons applying for international protection in the EU Member States. The use of this indicator is possible as all Member States are able to provide it to Eurostat since 2014.
↑ Data on first instance decisions relate to decisions on applications granted to all asylum applicants i.e. first-time asylum applicants and repeated asylum applicants.
↑ Total decisions equal to positive decisions plus negative decisions.
↑ Rate of recognition is the share of (first instance) positive decisions in the total number of decisions at first instance. In this report, the exact number of decisions has been used for calculations instead of the presented rounded numbers. Rates of recognition for humanitarian status are not shown, but are part of the 'Total recognition rate'.

[1] First-time applicant for international protection is a person who lodged an application for asylum for the first time in a given Member State. The indicator 'First-time asylum applicants' excludes repeated applicants i.e. persons applying for asylum more than once in one country and therefore more accurately presents the number of persons applying for international protection in the EU Member States. The use of this indicator is possible as all Member States are able to provide it to Eurostat since 2014.

[2] Data on first instance decisions relate to decisions on applications granted to all asylum applicants i.e. first-time asylum applicants and repeated asylum applicants.

[3] Total decisions equal to positive decisions plus negative decisions.

[4] Rate of recognition is the share of (first instance) positive decisions in the total number of decisions at first instance. In this report, the exact number of decisions has been used for calculations instead of the presented rounded numbers. Rates of recognition for humanitarian status are not shown, but are part of the 'Total recognition rate'.

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