EU asylum requests down by 11% in 2024, but still exceed one million

The number of asylum applications registered across the European Union, Norway and Switzerland decreased by 11% in 2024 but remained above the one-million mark for a second consecutive year, according to the annual report released by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) on Monday morning.

Overall, 1,014,420 requests for international protection were filed last year, compared to the 1,143,437 requests recorded in 2023.

Notably, the report shows that almost half (48%) of the one million applications were submitted by citizenships with historically low chances of a successful decision, suggesting they are likely to be eventually turned down by national authorities.

The trend is set to compound the recurring worries of EU member states, which have asked Brussels to reform the current legislation to speed up the deportation of rejected asylum seekers, such as economic migrants who come to the continent searching for better living conditions rather than escaping persecution or ill-treatment.

The European Commission has endorsed the contentious idea of building camps (also known as "return hubs") outside EU territory to transfer those whose applications are denied. A revamped Return Directive is expected to be unveiled later this month.

In line with recent years, Syrians, Afghans, Venezuelans, Turks, and Colombians represented the largest groups of applicants in 2024, according to the EUAA report.

Syrian requests (151,000) went down by 17% in total and 24% in Germany, the main host country. The change is not directly linked to the fall of Bashar al-Assad's autocracy, which happened only in December and whose effects are yet to fully materialise.

Claims by Afghans (87,382), Turks (55,705) and Colombians (51,529) also declined.

By contrast, Venezuelan applications rose to 73,187, a record-high figure since at least 2014. The vast majority of these (90%) were lodged in Spain.

As a result of ongoing conflict in the Central Sahel region, Spain experienced extraordinary migratory pressure in the Canary Islands. Applications from citizens of Mali (17,000) and Senegal (14,000) doubled in size from the previous year.

Ukrainians fleeing Russia's war lodged 27,000 asylum requests in 2024, a 90% rise compared to 2023. The pronounced rise is linked to the Temporary Protection Directive, a special regime that applies to Ukrainian citizens and is set to expire in March 2026. Applying for asylum can provide a long-term alternative to the directive.

Regarding destination countries, Germany remained clearly at the top with over 237,000 applications in 2024. The tally, though, represents a 29% drop compared to 2023.

Irregular migration was one of the issues that dominated the debate of the parliamentary elections in February. Friedrich Merz, the conservative leader poised to become the next chancellor, has promised a dramatic tightening of Germany's migration and asylum laws.

Germany was followed by Spain (165,767 requests), Italy (158,867), France (158,730), Greece (73,688), Belgium (39,206) and the Netherlands (33,437) as main destinations.

Cyprus, a small island in the Mediterranean, saw the largest number of asylum claims per capita: one for every 138 residents.

Meanwhile, Hungary received only 29 applications in 2024 due to its long-standing restrictions to the right of asylum, which the European Court of Justice ruled to be an "unprecedented and exceptionally serious breach of EU law."

Hungary is currently the subject of a multi-million fine by the ECJ that is gradually deducted from the country's allocated share of the EU budget.

The recognition rate – the chances of a successful application – stood at 42% last year, virtually unchanged. Syrians (90%), Malians (84%), Eritreans (81%), Ukrainians (80%), Afghans (63%) and Somalis (60%) had the highest recognition rates.

The rate is far from uniform and varies according to the country that examines the claim. For instance, Afghans who applied in Greece had a 98% recognition rate, while those who applied in Belgium had a much lower rate of 39%.

Countries with a low recognition rate – below 20% – included Turkey, Nigeria, Pakistan, Colombia, Tunisia, Morocco, Bangladesh, Georgia, Peru, Egypt and Venezuela.

The total number of pending cases stood at 981,000 at the end of 2024, a particularly elevated figure that matches the peak seen during the 2016 migration crisis.

For years, the EU has tried to curb the number of applicants with a low recognition rate to avoid overwhelming authorities with cases that are unlikely to succeed. Brussels has signed EU-funded deals with Tunisia, Egypt and Lebanon to strengthen border controls and prevent the departure of irregular migrants.

But a closer look at the 2024 stats shows the limitations of this approach.

According to Frontex, the EU's border guard agency, there were 239,000 irregular border crossings last year, a 38% drop. This means the majority of the 1,014,420 asylum applications filed in 2024 came from people who arrived in the bloc through legal routes.