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 Applications

Main citizenships

During the first half of 2025, Europe’s asylum landscape underwent significant shifts. For the past decade, Syrians had consistently been the largest nationality seeking asylum in the EU+, and Germany the primary receiving country. During the first half of 2025, however, Syrian applications fell sharply, dropping them to third place among all nationalities. At the same time, Germany was temporarily overtaken by France and Spain as the leading destination for asylum seekers. Further analysis of mid-year trends are available in the EUAA Latest Asylum Trends mid-year review 2025.

Asylum in the EU+ affected by political developments in countries of origin

The situation in Syria has been evolving extremely rapidly. In December 2024, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) seized Damascus, ending Assad’s rule. By March 2025, a transitional government had been formed, prompting the United States to lift most sanctions and remove HTS from its terrorist list. In October 2025, Syria held its first—albeit restrictive—parliamentary elections marking a milestone in the country’s recovery. Reflecting these developments, Syrian asylum applications in the EU+ dropped from over 16,000 in October 2024 just before the fall of Assad to just 3,500 in September 2025 (latest data). At the same time far fewer Syrians were detected illegally crossing the external border, according to Frontex data.

Importantly, this decrease does not stem from changes in EU+ policies. While many EU+ countries have temporarily suspended the processing of Syrian asylum cases pending clarity on the situation, they continued to accept new claims. Instead, the decline appears linked to changing intentions among displaced Syrians, many of whom now express hope about returning to rebuild their communities. UNHCR estimates that (as of September 2025), a million Syrians have returned since the fall of Assad, though mostly from surrounding countries, with more expected to return within the next year. According to EUAA’s Survey of Asylum-related Migrants, Syrians in the EU+ consider improved security, personal freedoms, financial conditions, employment opportunities, and access to education and healthcare essential preconditions for voluntary return.

For updated analysis of the situation in Syria following the overthrow of Bashar Al-Assad, read two EUAA Syria Country Focus reports from July 2025, and March 2025, and for an analysis of the main profiles in Syria read EUAA’s Syria Country Guidance. Also watch the EUAA Country Talk: Syria for a discussion of Country information and Country Guidance

Asylum in the EU+ affected by conflict in countries of origin

Asylum in the EU+ affected by conflict in countries of origin

Sudan has been ravaged by a brutal civil war since 2023 when a struggle for power broke out between its army, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and a paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Services (RSF). More than 150,000 have died and 12.4 million have been forced from their homes in a country that is already highly vulnerable to climate change events such as floods, droughts and environmental instability. Famine has been declared across much of the country with 375,000 on the brink of starvation, creating a severe humanitarian crisis for 15 million children. In recent weeks, RSF took control of the major city EL Fasher, forcing tens of thousands to flee on foot to neighbouring cities already flooded with displaced persons. This, amid an unprecedented fall off in aid expenditure by donor governments worldwide. In September 2025, applications from Sudanese nationals reached 2,100, up by 147% compared to the same period in 2024. In Greece especially, Sudanese applications increased by some 366% in the 12 months leading up to September 2025. See section on Trends.

Although most displaced Ukrainians in the EU+ benefit from temporary protection, the number lodging asylum applications was on the increase throughout 2024 and early 2025. Indeed, in the first half of 2025, Ukrainians lodged 16,000 asylum applications — up by 30% compared to the same period in 2024 — making them the sixth most common citizenship seeking asylum in the EU+. However, this trend reversed in mid-2025, such that in September 2025, Ukrainians lodged just 1,700 applications — a 19% decline compared to the same month last year. France and Poland received most of these claims (see also: section on Migrants from Ukraine).

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, thousands have died and many more have been displaced amid ongoing conflict. A peace agreement was signed in June 2025, followed by a ceasefire in July. However, the reality on the ground continues to be marred with violence. During the first half of 2025, Congolese nationals lodged 9,900 asylum claims in the EU+, a 56% increase from the same period in 2024. Applications remained high in September (1,400), though recognition rates were low, as many applicants were not from conflict-affected areas. France received three-quarters of these applications, but travel histories are unclear given very few detections at the external border.

Asylum in the EU+ affected by a landmark court ruling

The increasingly repressive conditions in Afghanistan, with a systematic exclusion of women and girls from public life under Taliban rule, triggered the adoption of EUAA Country Guidance on Afghanistan (last updated May 2024), unanimously endorsed by Member States. It confirmed that Taliban-imposed restrictions amount to persecution. UNHCR also released guidance in February 2023 supporting similar conclusions. These developments laid the groundwork for a ruling by the Court of Justice of the EU in October 2024, which confirmed that Taliban-imposed restrictions on women amount to persecution. As a result, Afghan women may qualify for refugee status solely based on their gender.

In mid-2025, Afghan women previously granted subsidiary protection began submitting repeated applications to obtain refugee status, which provides broader rights, including family reunification. Consequently, mid-2025 saw an extremely sharp rise in repeated applications from Afghans, evidently women already residing in Germany, accounting for nearly all growth in Afghan asylum claims in the EU+, while detections at the external border remained stable.

Asylum in the EU+ shaped by contrasting migration policies

Venezuela’s deepening economic and political crisis continues to drive large-scale displacement. More than 2.8 million Venezuelans remain in Colombia, 1.7 million in Peru, and hundreds of thousands more in Brazil, Chile and Ecuador. At the same time, changes to United States migration policy throughout 2025 have further limited access to international protection. The US has also significantly expanded maritime and aerial patrols in the Caribbean as part of reinforced anti-smuggling operations, and has destroyed at least six suspected drug boats. These developments, alongside increased political pressure on the Venezuelan leadership, have contributed to a more volatile regional environment and disrupted traditional migration routes.

At the same time, several countries in Latin America have reintroduced or imposed visa requirements for Venezuelan nationals, narrowing mobility options across the region. Also in Colombia, over the last year most initiatives once aimed at helping the 2.8 million Venezuelan residents have been dismantled. While some voluntary return movements have taken place, many Venezuelans remain stranded outside their country, facing limited access to protection or livelihoods.

In contrast, Spain has adopted a new immigration policy last year to support integration in the areas of employment, education and family. The plan, supported by the IOM, aims to reduce residency requirements, extend job-seeker visas, and regularise over one million migrants within three years with the objective of meeting labour market needs and supporting its pension system. Against this backdrop, Venezuelans have increasingly sought asylum in the EU+. During the first half of 2025, they became the most common nationality applying for asylum in EU+ countries, particularly in Spain, with applications rising by 31% compared to the same period in 2024. In September 2025 alone, Venezuelans lodged 6,900 applications — the second highest among all nationalities. Spain continued to be, by far the main destination, receiving the vast majority of these claims due to linguistic and cultural ties, an established diaspora, and its practice of granting humanitarian protection to those not qualifying for international protection.

Given these contrasting developments — more restrictive conditions in the US and elsewhere in South America, plus Spain’s comparatively open and integration-oriented policies — it is unsurprising that many Venezuelans view the EU+ as an increasingly viable and stable destination.

Destinations

In the first half of 2025, Germany was no longer the foremost destination for asylum seekers in the EU+, receiving 70,000 applications or 18% of all applications lodged in the EU+. For more information, read the EUAA Latest Asylum Trends mid-year review 2025. However, in mid-2025, many more Afghan women lodged repeated applications for asylum in Germany, with the result that Germany once more received the most applications for asylum in the EU+. Indeed, in September 2025, 70% of all Afghan applications were lodged in Germany.

  • Many citizenships tend to lodge the majority of applications in a single EU+ country. For example, in September 2025:

  • Nearly all Venezuelan applications and more than four fifths of Malian applications were lodged in Spain.

  • Three quarters of Congolese (DR) applications were lodged in France.

  • More than four fifths of all Peruvian and Bangladeshi applications were lodged in Italy.

These concentrations can also be seen in the Overview section.    

Applications per capita

Evaluating which EU+ countries tend to receive the most applications for asylum is important but to some extent a simple like-for-like comparison is not appropriate because the EU+ countries vary wildly in terms of the size and capacity of their asylum and reception systems. As a rough measure of their overall capacity and a more nuanced estimation of the pressure exerted on national authorities, this analysis takes into account the number of asylum applications lodged per million inhabitants (Eurostat population data).

In September 2025, Greece received the most applications per capita: 5,900 actual applications for asylum which equates to 565 applications per million inhabitants, or one application per 1,770 persons.

Luxembourg and Germany, despite receiving vastly different numbers of applications in total (160 and 20,000, respectively), experienced similar per capita pressure, with each country receiving around 240 applications per million inhabitants.

At the EU+ level, the total population of 465 million and 78,000 asylum applications during September 2025 translate to nearly 170 applications per million inhabitants, or one application per 6,000 residents.

Hungary stands out among EU+ countries for allowing an exceptionally low number of asylum seekers to lodge applications, just 14 in September 2025 despite a population exceeding 9.5 million — 10 times that of Cyprus. This is due to Hungary's special rules which limit access to the asylum procedure by requiring applicants to submit a letter of intent at a Hungarian diplomatic mission in a non-EU country prior to their entry to Hungary No 233/2020 (V.26). In June 2024, the European Court of Justice fined Hungary for breaching EU asylum rules. For more information consult the EUAA factsheet, and National Asylum Developments Database