Latest Asylum Trends: Monthly Overview

In May 2026, EU+ countries received around 52,000 applications for international protection. This was 3% fewer than in April, indicating a broadly stable month-to-month trend, but 19% lower than in May 2025. Applications therefore remained at a very low level compared with most of the recent period covered by the chart.

Applications remained lower than in most of 2025, mainly because Syrian applications have fallen sharply since late 2024. Syrians lodged around 1,500 applications in May 2026, far below the levels recorded during much of the last decade when they were the main applying citizenship. In 2025, Syrians were overtaken by Afghans and Venezuelans. The downward fluctuation in May was driven mainly by fewer applications from Afghans, Haitians and Venezuelans, partly offset by increases among Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Chinese and Sri Lankans.

The largest groups in May 2026 were:

• Afghans — around 5,600 applications; 

• Venezuelans — around 4,600; 

• Bangladeshis — around 3,000; 

• Egyptians, Turks, Sudanese and Malians — each around 1,800; 

• Pakistanis, Somalis, Syrians and Haitians — each around 1,500–1,600.

Venezuelans lodged around 4,600 applications in May 2026, ranking second among all citizenships. Most were first-time applicants, suggesting that many were newly arrived in the receiving country. Venezuelans can travel visa-free to the Schengen area and their applications remained overwhelmingly concentrated in Spain, which received 92% of all Venezuelan applications in May.

Afghans lodged around 5,600 applications in May 2026, ranking first among all citizenships. Afghan applications have declined since the peak reached in September 2025, which was driven largely by repeated applications in Germany, especially by Afghan women already present there, following legal and policy clarification recognising them as qualifying for protection in light of the restrictions imposed under Taliban rule. In May 2026, some 35% of Afghan applications were repeated applications in the same EU+ country, down from 55% in the autumn of last year.

In May 2026, applications were concentrated in a few EU+ countries:

• Italy received around 11,000 applications;  

• France around 9,900; 

• Spain around 8,200; 

• Germany around 7,900; 

• Greece around 4,100. 

Together, these five countries received around 80% of all applications lodged in the EU+. For many years Germany used to be the main receiving country.

If adjusted for population size, Greece recorded the highest level in May 2026, with 394 applications per million inhabitants. It was followed by Cyprus with 263, Italy with 194, Ireland with 185 and Switzerland with 179. The EU+ average was 112 applications per million inhabitants, or around 1 application per 8,900 people.

In May 2026, the EU+ recognition rate was 30% at first instance. This means that 30% of first instance decisions granted either refugee status or subsidiary protection. The EU+ recognition rate does not include national forms of protection, which are considered as negative in terms of EU-regulated protection and it does not include decisions issued in appeal or review.

Yes. In May 2026, recognition rates continued to vary widely by citizenship.

• Recognition rates were high for Malians (88%), Haitians (80%), Afghans (74%) and Sudanese (60%). 

• Recognition rates were very low for Venezuelans, Bangladeshis and Egyptians at 2% each, as well as Peruvians (4%), Moroccans (6%) and Georgians (7%).

At the end of May 2026, around 800,000 cases were pending at first instance in the EU+. Around 589,000, or 74%, had been pending for more than six months. First instance pending cases remained high by historical standards, although below the previous peak of around 1.02 million recorded in September 2016. The latest complete estimate for all instances (including appeal and review) refers to April 2026, when approximately 1.2 million total cases were awaiting a decision, including around 407,000 cases pending in appeal or review.

At present, applications from Iranian nationals remain relatively low and represent a small share of total EU+ asylum applications. In May 2026, Iranian nationals lodged around 520 applications, remaining a relatively small contributor to the overall EU+ asylum inflow. This was broadly stable compared with April and still does not indicate a sustained increase.

However, the situation remains uncertain. Previous increases — such as those observed following government crackdowns in 2022–2023 — were gradual and limited in scale. In fact, in the past Iranian applications tended to be more affected by visa policy changes in countries of transit. Given Iran’s large population of around 90 million, even a small proportion seeking protection could result in significant increases in applications over a short period of time. At present, however, Iranian applications remain a marginal component of the EU+ caseload.