Asylum applications in the EU+ up by 10 % in the first half of 2019 from the same period in 2018

Applications from Latin America reached a new peak.

Preliminary analyses reveal that in the first half of 2019 some 337 200 applications for asylum were lodged in the EU+, a 10 % increase from the same period a year earlier. In contrast to this upward trend, in June 2019 applications fell to the lowest level of the year, but there were fewer working days.

Citizens of Syria, Afghanistan and Venezuela continued to lodge the most applications, with only Syrians seeking asylum in reduced numbers. Importantly, applicants from several Latin-American countries have already lodged the same (or higher) number of applications as in the whole of 2018. These citizenships are all exempt of visa requirements when entering the Schengen area, now accounting for more than one in four applications in the EU+.

The output of first-instance authorities remained at lower levels: some 277 700 decisions were issued at first instance, in line with the previous semester. As a result, the number of cases awaiting a decision at first instance remained stable throughout the past twelve months, and amounted to 439 000 at the end of June.

Some 95 300 first-instance decisions issued so far in 2019 have granted EU-regulated forms of protection (70 % refugee status and 30 % subsidiary protection) which amounts to a recognition rate of 34 %. Citizens from Yemen and Syria had the highest rate (86 %) whereas Moldovans (0.3 %) and North Macedonians had the lowest (1 %).

For more information and an interactive data visualisation, please visit the Latest Asylum Trends page.