Latest Asylum Trends: Monthly Overview

In March 2026, EU+ countries received approximately 59,000 applications for international protection. This was slightly higher than in February, when around 57,000 applications were lodged, but still broadly in line with the low levels recorded since December 2025. The latest figure remained well below most monthly levels recorded in 2024 and below the even higher levels observed in parts of 2025.

The chart here shows applications lodged in the EU+ over the past two years, distinguishing between first-time applicants, repeated applicants and cases where the application type was unknown. Most applications continued to be lodged by first-time applicants. In March 2026, 18% of all applications were repeated applications in the same EU+ country. This indicates that repeated applications continued to form a sizeable minority of the overall EU+ caseload.  

Among the main citizenships, Venezuelans lodged the most applications in March 2026, with around 7,000 applications. This was broadly stable compared with February. Venezuelan applications continued to consist almost entirely of first-time applications, with repeated applications accounting for just 2% of the total, suggesting that most applicants were newly arrived in the receiving country.

Afghans lodged around 7,000 applications, ranking second by a small margin. Afghan applications decreased compared with February and continued to decline from the sharp peak reached in September 2025. Nevertheless, Afghans remained one of the two largest applicant groups in the EU+. Around 36% of Afghan applications were repeated in the same EU+ country, confirming that part of the Afghan caseload continued to be linked to applicants already present in the EU+. Read a recent EUAA report on Afghanistan: Major Legislative, Security-Related, And Humanitarian Developments.

Bangladeshis ranked third, with around 3,300 applications, of which 5% were repeated applications. This represented a moderate decrease compared with February, when Bangladeshis lodged around 3,600 applications. Over the year, Bangladeshi applications have fluctuated from month to month but have generally remained within a relatively stable range. Read a recent EUAA report on Bangladesh: Procedure for Persons of Rohingya Origin.

Syrians lodged around 1,900 applications, almost unchanged from February and still far below the levels recorded throughout much of 2024. Syrian applications therefore remained low and no longer dominate the EU+ asylum inflow in the way they did previously. Turkish nationals also lodged around 1,900 applications, of which 33% were repeated applications, continuing the lower levels observed since 2025.

Several other citizenships in the top 10 showed more visible month-to-month movements. Haitians lodged around 1,900 applications, of which 46% were repeated. This number was almost twice the level recorded in February, although the increase came from a lower base. Read a recent EUAA report on Security Situation in Port-au-Prince and also Situation of Women without Support Network in Port-au-Prince. Malians also lodged around 1,900 applications, with 13% of them repeated. Ukrainians and Sudanese each lodged around 1,600 applications, while Egyptians lodged around 1,800, of which 14% were repeated applications.

Taken together, the March 2026 data point to a slight rebound from the very low number recorded in February, but not to a return to the higher application levels seen in 2024 or in parts of 2025. Applications remained concentrated among a relatively small number of citizenships, but the composition of the EU+ caseload has changed markedly compared with earlier periods, especially because Syrians remain at much lower levels, while Venezuelans and Afghans now form the two largest groups.

Iran

Iranian nationals lodged around 800 applications in March 2026, ranking 22nd among all citizenships and remaining a relatively small contributor to the overall EU+ asylum inflow. This was higher than in February, when Iranians lodged around 680 applications, but still modest compared with the main applying citizenships and lower than the autumn of last year. Over the past 12 months, Iranian applications have fluctuated considerably from month to month, while remaining well below the levels recorded among the largest applicant groups.

Available Frontex data on detections of Iranian nationals at the EU external border do not yet cover March 2026. In February 2026, there were about 130 detections, up from 51 in January, but still far below the higher levels recorded in mid-2025, when monthly detections reached around 500. This suggests that, based on the latest available border data, there is not yet evidence of a renewed increase in irregular border-crossings comparable to the levels seen in 2025.

At this stage, Iranian applications continue to represent a marginal share of total EU+ applications. While the increase in March is notable compared with the previous month, it follows a period of relatively low and fluctuating volumes. There is therefore no clear indication, based on the latest application data alone, of a sustained or large-scale increase in Iranian asylum applications in the EU+.

A key question is whether the current context could generate a different dynamic and lead to significant flows towards the EU+. Previous increases, such as those observed following government crackdowns in 2022–2023, were gradual rather than abrupt and remained limited in scale compared with other major displacement situations. That said, given Iran’s large population of around 90 million, even a relatively small proportion seeking protection in the EU+ could translate into substantial application volumes over a short period of time. At present, however, Iranian applications remain comparatively low and should continue to be monitored.

At EU+ level, developments among the main citizenships show a clear divergence between increasing and declining groups. Among the largest citizenships, Afghan applications increased by 38%, from around 85,000 to 117,000, making Afghans the largest applying citizenship over the latest 12-month period. Venezuelan applications also increased, but only slightly, by 6%, from around 82,000 to 87,000.

Several other citizenships recorded notable increases. Sudanese applications nearly doubled, increasing by 93% to 20,000. Malian applications increased by 24%, while more moderate increases were recorded among Haitians (+19%), Somalis (+14%) and Eritreans (+7%). Congolese (DR) and Egyptian applications were essentially stable, increasing by 3% and 1%, respectively.

These increases were outweighed by large decreases among several previously high-volume citizenships. Most importantly, Syrian applications declined by 75%, from around 131,000 to 33,000, representing by far the largest reduction among the main citizenships. Colombian applications also fell sharply, by 61%, from around 45,000 to 17,000. Other substantial declines were recorded for Turks (-38%), Ukrainians (-37%), Peruvians (-33%), Iraqis (-25%), Moroccans and Pakistanis (both -18%), and Guineans (-17%).

While EU-level trends provide an overall picture, important differences emerge across the main receiving countries.

For example:

• In Germany, the most notable development was the sharp increase in Afghan applications, which more than doubled from around 32,000 to 69,000 (+121%). This contrasted with substantial decreases among several other major citizenships, including Syrians (-75%), Turks (-49%), Iraqis (-38%), Russians (-35%) and Iranians (-42%).  
• In France, trends were more mixed. Haitians became the largest applying citizenship over the latest 12-month period, with around 15,000 applications, up by 20%. Afghan applications also increased, by 11%, reaching around 14,000, while applications by Congolese (DR) rose by 6% and Sudanese by 31%. At the same time, numbers for several citizenships declined, including Ukrainians (-39%), Bangladeshis (-28%), Turks (-17%), Nigerians (-24%), Kosovans* (-40%) and Mauritanians (-44%).  
• In Spain, trends remained largely shaped by Latin American citizenships. Venezuelans lodged around 82,000 applications, increasing by 10% and remaining by far the largest group in Spain. In contrast, Colombian applications fell by 67%, from around 34,000 to 11,000, and Peruvian applications fell by 70%, from around 8,900 to 2,600. Malian applications increased by 49%, reaching around 17,000, while applications by Somalis more than doubled (+123%), albeit from a much lower base.  
• In Italy, Bangladeshis remained the largest applying citizenship, with around 27,000 applications, despite a decrease of 16%. Several other major citizenships also declined, including Peruvians (-15%), Pakistanis (-15%), Moroccans (-23%), Tunisians (-35%) and Colombians (-31%). In contrast, Egyptian applications increased by 23%, reaching around 13,000, while applications by Afghans increased by 49%, though from a lower base.  
• In Greece, the caseload changed markedly. Afghans became the largest applying citizenship, with around 12,000 applications, despite a decrease of 25%. At the same time, Sudanese applications increased very sharply, from around 1,800 to 9,400 (+430%), and Bangladeshi applications rose from around 1,200 to 4,600 (+296%). These increases came from lower bases but substantially changed the composition of the inflow in Greece. In contrast, Syrian applications declined by 87%, from around 21,000 to 2,800.

Overall, the latest 12-month comparison confirms reduced applications among the main citizenships, despite increases for several groups. The most important structural change remains the sharp fall in Syrian applications, accompanied by large decreases among Colombians, Turks, Ukrainians and Peruvians. These declines were only partly offset by higher numbers of Afghan, Venezuelan, Sudanese and Malian applications, leading to a lower and differently composed EU+ asylum caseload. 

In March 2026, taking the whole EU+ into consideration, around 59,000 applications and a population of around 465 million translated into around 130 applications per million inhabitants, or approximately 1 application for every 7,900 people.

The highest per capita level was recorded in Cyprus, with around 330 applications per million inhabitants. It was followed by Greece with around 280 applications per million inhabitants and Spain with around 230. These countries therefore received substantially more applications relative to population size than the EU+ average.

Several other EU+ countries were also above the EU+ average. Italy, despite receiving around 11,000 applications in absolute terms, had around 190 applications per million inhabitants. France, the largest receiving country in absolute terms with around 13,000 applications, had around 180 applications per million inhabitants.  

Per capita analysis also shows how countries with very different total numbers of applications can experience similar relative levels. For example, Germany received around 10,000 applications, while the Netherlands received around 2,100. However, because of their different population sizes, both countries recorded broadly similar per capita levels, at around 120 applications per million inhabitants. Similarly, Ireland, Luxembourg, Belgium and Switzerland all recorded around 170 applications per million inhabitants, despite receiving very different numbers of applications in absolute terms. This illustrates why absolute application numbers and per capita indicators can tell different but complementary stories.

At the other end of the scale, several countries received very low numbers of applications per capita. These included Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Lithuania, each well below the EU+ average.

Overall, while applications in absolute terms were concentrated mainly in France, Italy, Spain and Germany, the per capita picture provides a different perspective on relative pressure. It highlights the comparatively high levels recorded in Cyprus, Greece and Spain, while showing that some large receiving countries, notably Germany, were much closer to the EU+ average once population size is taken into account