EU Sees Sharp Drop in Asylum Applications

The European Union continues to follow the trends observed at the end of 2024. The number of asylum applications is steadily declining, a trend linked to tightening migration rules. In March 2025, most applications came from Venezuelan and Afghan citizens, while Germany and France remained the most welcoming countries.

In March 2025, the EU registered 57,925 first-time asylum applications — a 23% decrease compared to March 2024 (75,040) and 2% below February’s figure (59,085), Eurostat
reports. Repeat applications rose 4% year-on-year (from 7,170 to 7,430), but fell 3% compared to February (7,630).

Who Applies and Where?

Most asylum seekers in March 2025 came from:

Venezuela (8,600)

Afghanistan (5,650)

Bangladesh (3,145)

Top recipient countries were Spain (13,335), Italy (12,390), France (10,690), and Germany (8,975) — together accounting for 78% of all first-time applications.

Approval rates were highest in Germany (15,590), followed by France (12,625) and Spain (11,565). Beneficiaries were mainly citizens of Afghanistan (18,500), Venezuela (8,675), and Ukraine (4,285).

Relative to population, the highest rates were recorded in Greece (39.6 per 100,000), Cyprus (31.0), and Spain (27.4). Unaccompanied minors filed 1,595 applications, primarily from Syria (250), Afghanistan (240), and Venezuela (150). The largest shares were in Germany (485), Spain (330), and Greece (160).

Decisions on Asylum Cases

Between January and March 2025, the EU issued 198,570 first-instance asylum decisions. This is 1% less than Q4 2024 (199,980) but 7% more than the same quarter of 2024 (184,865). Positive decisions fell from 99,390 in Q4 2024 to 66,315 in Q1 2025.

Among those granted protection:

~49% were recognized as refugees,

26% received humanitarian protection,

25% were granted subsidiary protection.

Context and Trends

In 2024, the EU registered 912,000 first-time asylum applications — 13% fewer than in 2023 (1,049,500). For comparison, pre-crisis levels (2010–2013) were below 300,000 annually.

In 2024, Syria led as the main country of origin (147,965 applications, 16.2%), followed by Venezuela (72,775) and Afghanistan (72,155). Other notable groups came from Colombia, Turkey, and Bangladesh. Germany received the most applications — 229,700 (25% of the EU total), ahead of Spain (164,000), Italy (151,100), France (130,900), and Greece (69,000). Cyprus recorded the highest per-capita rate with 7.2 applications per 1,000 residents.

With EU states tightening migration rules, further declines in applications are possible. A significant improvement in conditions in origin countries could also contribute to this trend.