07
Rights of beneficiaries of international protection for inclusion and integration
Content of protection refers to the rights to which beneficiaries of a form of protection are entitled in the country of asylum, as well as the associated obligations. Protection is granted when applicants receive a positive decision granting refugee or subsidiary protection status (also referred to as EU-harmonised statuses). The recognition rate refers to the number of positive outcomes as a percentage of the total number of decisions on applications for international protection. While national forms of protection do grant a protection status to third-country nationals, those statuses – which are not harmonised across EU+ countries – are typically not included in the calculation of the recognition rate. In 2024, the recognition rate remained stable at 42%. However, this aggregate percentage masks variations across two dimensions. Among positive decisions, the share of decisions granting subsidiary protection has been increasing over the past 2 years. In addition, significant variations in positive decisions are noted across nationalities. Recognition rates at first instance were the highest for Palestinians (91%), Syrians (90%), Burkinabe (85%), Malians (84%), Eritreans (82%) and Ukrainians (80%).
Besides the EU-regulated forms of international and temporary protection, EU+ countries may also grant a national form of protection. Among decisions that did not grant an EU-regulated status, around 23% granted some form of national protection, thus increasing the actual number of persons receiving protection in Europe.
In recent years, there have been several legislative and policy developments in this field, for example allowing a stay based on humanitarian considerations or advanced integration of a person due to residing for an extended period in the country. The political debate in many national contexts continued to focus on aspects related to the length of residence permits for beneficiaries of international protection, the perspectives for acquiring long-term residence or citizenship, family reunification modalities depending on the status granted, and the grounds for the renewal or withdrawal of international protection.
Once granted international protection, beneficiaries continued to face challenges in their successful integration. A main area of concern remained the transition from a reception facility to the mainstream housing market. Authorities at the local level are increasingly at the forefront of the implementation of national integration strategies, while services delivered by civil society organisations remain key in effective integration, as they often fill gaps in support services.
Box 1. Temporary protection for displaced persons
from Ukraine
At the end of 2024, approximately 4.4 million individuals were under temporary protection across EU+ countries. This figure has remained relatively stable since early 2023 and continues to significantly contribute to the overall number of people in Europe with protection needs. Nearly one-half of all beneficiaries of temporary protection were in Germany (1.2 million) and Poland (just below 1 million). Relative to population size, Czechia hosted the highest number of beneficiaries per capita (see Figure 2).
During the third year since Russia’s invasion, EU+ countries focused more and more on the integration of displaced Ukrainians, with many introducing initiatives to support access to the labour market, language acquisition, community activities and obtaining long-term residence permits. Beneficiaries of temporary protection were encouraged to leave reception and further integrate into society by acquiring their own housing. At times, this proved a challenging endeavour and entailed the risk of homelessness. UNHCR continued with the implementation of its Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP) in the Baltics, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova.