migration
EU agency: Significant decline in asylum applications again
Updated March 3, 2026 – 10:58 amReading time: 2 minutes
The number of asylum applications submitted in Europe is falling significantly. There are fewer and fewer, especially in Germany, but the Federal Republic is still ahead when it comes to applications for international protection.
The number of asylum applications in the EU as well as in Norway and Switzerland fell significantly again last year: a total of around 822,000 applications were registered in the 27 EU states and the two partner countries, which corresponds to a decrease of around a fifth compared to 2024 (minus 19 percent). This emerges from the new annual report of the EU asylum agency EUAA, based in Malta.
According to the report, the reason for the significant decline is primarily that there were fewer asylum applications from people from Syria (42,000; in 2024 there were 151,000), but also from Bangladesh (37,000) and Turkey (33,000). Since the fall of long-term ruler Bashar al-Assad at the end of 2024, people in Syria have had hope for a better future.
EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner also attributed the decline in asylum applications to European migration policy. “A central factor here is our consistent commitment in the countries along the migration routes,” said Brunner. The EU recently increased cooperation with countries such as Egypt and Libya – also to prevent migrants from coming to Europe irregularly.
According to the report, the number of applications for international protection from people from Afghanistan (117,000) and Venezuela (91,000) increased. The reasons for the increase in applications from Venezuelans include more restrictive immigration rules from the US government and stricter visa requirements for Venezuelans in neighboring Latin American countries.
According to an earlier EUAA report, in the first half of 2025 it initially became apparent that Germany would no longer be at the top of the countries with the most asylum applications registered there. According to the new report, that trend has reversed. With 163,000 applications, Germany was again the number one destination country, although the number fell by a third compared to 2024 (minus 31 percent).
The numbers now published differ only slightly from official information from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), which counted around 168,000 applications in 2025, around 113,000 of which were initial applications. The EU Asylum Agency report also takes initial and subsequent applications into account – but does not break them down individually.
Similar to Germany, Spain (143,000), Italy (134,000) and Greece (62,000) recorded declines – around 15 percent fewer applications. However, the numbers in France remained stable (152,000). Taken together, Germany and these four countries accounted for 80 percent of all asylum applications.
