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Latest Asylum Trends

November 2023

Overview

 

Key findings

1. In November 2023, the EU+ received 118,000 asylum applications, down slightly from October's peak of 123,000, which was the highest since the 2015-16 refugee crisis.

 

 

2. Between January and November 2023, the EU+ received more than one million asylum applications 
(1,057,000), a level reminiscent of the 2015-16 refugee crisis.

 

 

 

3. Syrians continued to lodge by far the most applications in November 2023, plus Turkish applications continued to soar, ranked second.

 

 

 

4. In November 2023, Germany maintained its position as the foremost destination for asylum seekers in the EU+, receiving very nearly a third of all applications lodged in the EU+.

5. There were more cases pending at first instance (860,000 at the end of November 2023) than at any other point since 2016, amid the refugee crisis of 2015-16.  

6. At the end of November 2023, there were about 4.3 million beneficiaries of temporary protection in the EU+ who fled Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion. Notably, Czechia hosted the most beneficiaries per capita, followed by Estonia, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Poland.

Applications

Trends

 

To eliminate month-to-month fluctuations, this section offers a comprehensive overview of the asylum application trends of the top 20 nationalities in 2023 (yellow) in comparison to the year before (blue). Syrians and Afghans lodged the most applications for asylum during both these time periods. However, Syrian applications saw a considerable increase (+38%), whereas Afghans applications declined by 11%.

Most of these main citizenships exhibited an upward change in their application numbers, which is to some extent a statistical artefact because nationalities with declining trends are more likely to fall out of the top 20, while those with increasing trends tend to rise into the ranking. Nevertheless, it is notable that Ivorians lodged twice as many applications as in 2022, whereas Turks, Peruvians, and Guineans lodged nearly twice as many applications over the same period.

In contrast, among these top citizenships, only Ukrainians (many of whom are eligible for Temporary Protection), Nigerians, Georgians, and Afghans lodged substantially fewer applications in 2023 compared to 2022.

 

Main citizenships

 

In 2015-2016 more than a million migrants and asylum seekers arrived in the EU in what has become known as the refugee crisis, which has since dominated much of the policy landscape in the EU. During this time, applications for asylum skyrocketed in the EU+ (EU member states plus Norway and Switzerland). The figure illustrates these two years of extreme pressure on EU+ asylum and reception authorities, which were followed by several years of reduced applications, even to below half a million applications in 2020 when COVID-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions radically reduced global mobility. However, since that time applications for asylum have been on the increase year on year until 2023, when more than 1.1 million applications were lodged in the EU+, a level clearly reminiscent of the refugee crisis.

The true scope of this challenge extends beyond increased asylum applications because approximately 4.4 million displaced persons from Ukraine  are also benefitting from Temporary Protection, thereby adding a significant layer to the overall count of individuals arriving in the EU+ with protection needs.

These concurrent trends - the surge in asylum applications and the influx of displaced persons from Ukraine - are exerting immense strain on the EU+ asylum and reception systems. National authorities are being pushed to their limits in their efforts to accommodate and safeguard those in need.

In 2023, Syrians, consistently at the forefront of asylum applications in the EU+, submitted 181,000 applications, which is up by 38% compared to 2022 and represents by a wide margin the most applications since the refugee crisis. Afghans have formed the second-largest applicant group for many years and this trend continued in 2023, but at 114,000 they lodged 11% fewer applications than in 2022 marking Afghans as one of the only main nationalities with a declining trend.

Importantly, among the main citizenships seeking protection in the EU+ in 2023, many lodged the most applications since the refugee crisis and some even the most applications on record. These included:

  • Turkish nationals lodged nearly 101,000 applications, up by 82% compared to 2022, with most applications lodged in Germany.
  • Venezuelan and Colombian nationals lodged more than 60,000 applications each, both up by more than a third compared to 2022 with the vast majority lodged in Spain.
  • Moroccan and Egyptian nationals lodged close to 31,000 and 27,000 applications apiece, but with different destination countries: Moroccans mostly applied in Austria whereas Egyptians mostly in Italy.
  • Guinean and Ivorian nationals lodged more than 20,000 applications apiece, mostly in France.

Many of these citizenships were also detected illegally crossing the EU external border. In fact, Frontex announced that in 2023 detections of illegal-border crossing were higher than at any other point since 2016. Overall, there continue to be far fewer detections at the border than applications for asylum, but many similarities remain. For example, Syrians were the most detected at the border (100,000) on several irregular migration routes, while also lodging the most applications for asylum (181,000). Moreover, Afghans despite lodging slightly fewer applications for asylum were still among the most detected nationalities on the Western Balkan route, the Eastern Mediterranean route and the Eastern Land border, as well as on exit towards the UK. Guineans and Ivorians stand out as lodging increasing numbers of asylum applications and were also among the most detected nationalities on the Central Mediterranean route.

Everyone has the right to seek asylum irrespective of how they arrived in the receiving country. Indeed, many asylum seekers are not irregular migrants at all, instead arriving legally as regular travellers even on flights from their home countries. In 2023, around a fifth of all asylum applications were lodged by citizenships that benefit from visa-free travel agreements to the Schengen area, such as the one put in place for British nationals post Brexit. Most notable were Venezuelans and Colombians, and to a lesser extent, Peruvians who continue to lodge many and increasing applications for asylum. The vast majority of these Latin American applications were lodged in Spain, accounting for more than 80% of Venezuelan applications and Colombian applications in 2023, plus nearly all were first-time applications, suggesting that the applicants were newly arrived in the EU+. Also important in this perspective were Georgian applicants, who lodged more than 25,000 applications in 2023, albeit down by 12% compared to 2022. In response to challenges linked to visa-free travel, particularly the high numbers of unfounded asylum applications, the Commission adopted a proposal in October 2023 to strengthen the visa suspension mechanism.

Sometimes, the exact number of asylum seekers is difficult to assess because their nationalities are recorded in different ways. For example, statelessness is defined differently among EU+ countries (Read EUAA Asylum report) which can impact data quality and situational awareness. This was especially relevant in 2023 following the Hamas attacks across Israel on 7 October, and the war in Gaza that ensued, potentially displacing persons from Palestine which is not recognised as a state by all EU+ countries. Despite some inconsistent data, it has become clear that more Palestinians are lodging asylum applications in the EU+. In 2023, the number of applications reached nearly 11,600, the highest ever recorded and two thirds higher than in 2022. Specifically, the number of applications in Greece more than doubled over the same period, with nearly all being first-time applications, implying that applicants had recently arrived in the EU+. However, the available data does not offer detailed insights into their specific circumstances.

Per receiving country

 

In 2023, Germany maintained its position as the foremost destination for asylum seekers in the EU+, receiving 334,000 applications or 29% of all applications lodged in the EU+. Remarkably, Germany alone received more applications than the next two receiving countries combined: France with 15% of all applications (167,000) and Spain with 14% (162,000). Italy too featured prominently in the asylum landscape with 136,000 applications which represented a non-trivial 12% of all applications in the EU+. It is worth noting that collectively these four countries received more than two thirds of all applications lodged in the EU+ during this period.

Certain citizenships tend to lodge most of their applications in a single EU+ country. In 2023, these included Venezuelans and Colombians who both lodged more than 80% of all their applications in Spain; Egyptians who lodged nearly 70% of their applications in Italy, Turks who lodged just over 60% of their applications in Germany, and Peruvians who lodged just over 60% of their applications in Spain.

 

Per capita

 

Evaluating which EU+ countries tend to receive the most applications for asylum is important but to some extent a simple like-for-like comparison is not appropriate because the EU+ countries vary wildly in terms of the size and capacity of their asylum and reception systems. As a rough measure of their overall capacity and a more nuanced estimation of the pressure exerted on national authorities, this analysis takes into account the number of asylum applications lodged per million inhabitants (Eurostat population data).

In 2023, Cyprus, with a small population size of around 921,000, received 12,000 asylum applications. This amounts to a rate of 13,000 applications per million population, or 1 application for every 78 inhabitants. In contrast, Germany reported many more applications for asylum (circa 334,000); however, given its larger population of 84 million, the German rate is lower at 4,000 applications per million inhabitants, or 1 application per 252 inhabitants. Belgium and Estonia, while receiving very different numbers of applications per se (35,000 and 4,000, respectively), tended to be under similar pressure per capita: each country received around 3,000 applications per million population.

Taking the whole EU+ into consideration: its population of 463 million and 1.1 million asylum applications received in 2023, converts to 2,500 applications per million population, or about 1 application for every 400 persons.

Uniquely among EU+ countries, Hungary received just 30 applications for asylum in 2023 despite a population size in excess of 9.5 million persons (10 times that of Cyprus), probably because since 2020, applicants are required to submit a declaration of intent at a Hungarian embassy in a non-EU country before they can enter the country and apply for international protection. Read more in the EUAA Asylum Report 2021.

 

In addition to asylum applications, as of the end of December 2023, there were also 4.4 million persons benefiting from temporary protection in the EU+. This protection is based on a 2001 Directive which was triggered for the first time in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 with the aim of offering quick and effective assistance to people displaced to the EU+. At the end of December 2023, half of all beneficiaries of temporary protection were either in Germany (1.2 million) or Poland (1 million). For context and to allow comparisons with the inflow of asylum applications, Figure 6 illustrates the number of beneficiaries of temporary protection per capita being hosted in each EU+ country. In Czechia, there were about 34,000 beneficiaries per million inhabitants, which amounts to one beneficiary for every 29 inhabitants, followed by Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, and Poland (all at approximately 26,000 beneficiaries per million, or 1 beneficiary for every 38 or 39 inhabitants).

Recognition Rates

First instance

Main citizenships

 

In 2023, the recognition rate, which reflects the percentage of asylum applications that receive decisions granting refugee status and subsidiary protection, was around 43% which is the highest level since 2016. It is worth noting that recognition rates for most of the main citizenships differ wildly from each other but tend to remain relatively steady over time. For example, in 2023, Bangladeshis continued to have a recognition rate of around 5% which has remained steady for many years, plus Pakistanis at round 11% and Eritreans at 83%.

Some nationalities however have been granted protection at rates which have evolved over time, not only in the percentage of decisions that grant protection but also the types of protection that are put in place. These include:

Across the EU+

 

The aim of EUAA’s work is to foster a harmonised implementation of the Common European Asylum System across the EU so as to reach a situation where an application for international protection would receive the same decision, no matter where it was lodged. Recognition rates, the percentage of asylum applications that receive decisions granting refugee status or subsidiary protection, are sometimes cited as an indicator of the level of such harmonisation between EU+ countries.

It is important to recognise that several objective factors may lead to variations in recognition rates. The complexity of an asylum application and its examination cannot be reduced to a single measure such as the nationality of the applicant. Differences in the underlying profile of the applicant, national jurisprudence and national policies, and the application of certain legal concepts also come into play and can result in different recognition rates (Read Asylum Report - National policies on specific profiles and nationalities). Irrespective of underlying causes, this figure illustrates recognition rates across the EU+ for various citizenships. In each column, individual circles of the same colour represent different issuing countries, with the size of each circle reflecting the number of decisions issued, and their placement on the vertical (y) axis indicating the corresponding recognition rate—namely, the percentage of decisions that granted refugee status or subsidiary protection.

In 2023, the EU+ recognition rate for Afghans stood at 61% but as the chart shows, there was much variation between receiving countries (leftmost column of black circles). Nearly half of all Afghanistan decisions were issued by Germany (the biggest circle, labelled) where the 2023 recognition rate stood at 46%. However, it is important to note that Germany also issued many decisions to Afghans granting a national form of protection (48% of all first instance decisions, not shown). France also issued many decisions to Afghans with a 2023 recognition rate of 69%, while Switzerland issued 97% positive decisions to Afghans, compared to Belgium with 34%. This variation can be seen in a more detailed chart on convergence, and read EUAA Country Guidance on Afghanistan and EUAA Country Focus on Afghanistan.

In contrast, the recognition rate for Syrians exhibited a much higher degree of consistency among receiving countries. Among the countries issuing the most decisions for Syrians, Austria had a recognition rate of 99%, Bulgaria, 98% Germany 95% and the Netherlands 94%. Notwithstanding the 64% recognition rate for Syrians in Greece, this similarity in recognition rates suggests a more consistent assessment of protection needs among Syrians across these EU+ countries. There were however marked differences in the granting of refugee status versus subsidiary protection, which can be seen in a more detailed chart on convergence.

 

Pending Cases

First instance

 

While an application is awaiting a first instance decision, it is part of the caseload of applications under examination by the asylum authorities, or so-called first instance pending cases. The number of pending cases serves as a key indicator that reflects the workload faced by national authorities and the strain on national asylum systems, including reception systems. As of the end of November 2023, some 860,000 cases were awaiting a first instance decision which is up by 39% compared to a year previously, and is more than at any other point since 2016 amid the refugee crisis of 2015-16.

In general, citizenships lodging the most applications tend to have the most cases awaiting decisions. For example, in November 2023, Syrians, Turks and Afghans had the largest share of first instance pending cases (123,000, 81,000 and 74,000, respectively). This situation was particularly pronounced for Syrians, with a 45% increase compared to November 2022, and for Turks, whose first instance caseload more than doubled compared to a year earlier. The number of pending cases for Afghans increased to a lesser extent by 6%.

Over the past year, several nationalities have seen their pending cases than double. This trend was especially evident for Colombians and Peruvians primarily in Spain, and Egyptians primarily in Italy. At a lower level, pending cases have also doubled for Guineans and Ivorians, mostly in Italy and to a lesser extent in France.

Context: EU+ asylum authorities are under pressure to increase their decision making, and do so often with the operational support of the EUAA. Despite these efforts, decision making has not kept pace with the number of applications being lodged. As a consequence, we estimate that the total number of cases awaiting a decision at the end of October 2023 (including those in appeal or review) increased to around 1,100,000 (Eurostat - missing data estimated). Within this total, we conclude that three quarters (75% or 820,000) of cases were pending at first instance, while the remaining quarter (25% or 280,000) were awaiting decisions at second or higher instances.

Research

 

The Survey of Asylum-related Migrants (SAM) is a multi-country project designed to collect testimonies directly from people seeking international protection across the EU+. Based on the premise that digital literacy is increasingly prevalent, the project uses online, self-administered surveys that can be completed on smartphones and offers the possibility to survey large numbers of migrants at the same time. The primary objective of SAM is to establish a permanent system of collecting standardised, reliable, and comparable data on relevant topics, such as push and pull factors, travel histories and migrants’ future aspirations. Understanding these drivers both facilitates general preparedness to deal with a high number of arrivals but also to better inform policymakers.

On 11 April 2022, the EUAA launched the Survey of Arriving Migrants for Displaced People from Ukraine, with the support of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The questionnaire was updated in February 2023 to include additional topics. Demographics of the responses since February 2023, as of 5 January 2024, are shown below but for more detailed information read the latest EUAA Employment and Education factsheet.

The survey is ongoing and accessible in Ukrainian, Russian and English at: https://tellusyourstorysurvey.eu/.

 

Latest Asylum Trends - Research

 

For more information on SAM and on other projects related to displacement from Ukraine, access the following reports:

 
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This Employment and Education factsheet provides information from the updated SAM - UKR survey on reception and registration for displaced persons from Ukraine.

Surveys of Arriving Migrants from Ukraine

This Employment and Education factsheet provides information from the updated SAM - UKR survey on reception and registration for displaced persons from Ukraine.
Image
2022_11_09_Forced_Displacement_Ukraine_Joint_Report_EUAA_IOM_OECD.pdf.pdf

Forced displacement from and within Ukraine

This report brings together the results of desk research and survey projects carried out by the EUAA, IOM and OECD to detail forced displacement from and within Ukraine.
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Migration Research Series - Cover

Challenges and opportunities in rapid situational awareness of Ukrainian displacement to the European Union: Some methodological insights

This Migration Research Series paper highlights four research projects employed by the EUAA that seek to understand displacement from Ukraine to the European Union.

Providing Temporary Protection to Displaced Persons from Ukraine: A Year in Review

The report covers national developments in the implementation of the Temporary Protection Directive, from crisis measures to changing legislation and practices.

 
Data Tables

By EU+ country

*Blank fields are indicative of EU+ countries not reporting on certain indicators

**Low values are rounded to the nearest 5

By country of origin

 

National statistics and EUAA data

Country code EU+ country Authority Disclaimer
AT Austria Federal Ministry of the Interior No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 
BE Belgium Office of the Commissioner-General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS)
  1. On the national website of the CGRS, decisions issued after the initial decision was annulled by the appeal board are included as first instance decisions (as they can be appealed again). These decisions are not included as first instance decisions by EUAA. 
  2. Applications and decisions made in the framework of resettlement are included on the website of the CGRS. 
  3. The protection rate on the website of the CGRS is a calculation based on the number of files (cases including accompanied children) and not individual persons.
  4. The official national data on applications for international protection are also published on the website of Immigration Office (International protection | IBZ) and Eurostat (where there is a separate dataset for applications in the framework of resettlement)
  5. Data provided to the EUAA are operational data provided to EUAA within short timeframes, and there might be minor differences with the final validated data. 
BG Bulgaria State Agency for Refugees No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions.
CH Switzerland State Secretariat for Migration No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 
CY Cyprus Asylum Service, Ministry of Interior No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 
CZ Czechia Ministry of Interior No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 
DE Germany Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) National and EUAA data should be aligned for all indicators, but there may be differences for some breakdowns. Relocated applicants aren't considered in national statistics. In national statistics withdrawn applications are included in otherwise closed cases ("sonstige Verfahrenserledigungen"). Some first-instance decisions that in EUAA statistics are considered as negative decisions, in national statistics are classified as otherwise closed cases.
DK Denmark

Ministry of Immigration and Integration

The Danish Return Agency

The main causes to differences between national statistics and EUAA EPS data is the group of cases included in the statistics. For example, national statistics for asylum includes both first- and final-instance determinations and both applications, determinations in appeal, reopened cases and determinations in review.
EE Estonia European Police and Border Guard Board (in Estonian only) In general, the data should not differ, there may be cases where the data is corrected afterwards. The small difference with Eurostat data is due to the fact that Eurostat rounds the data. 
ES Spain Ministry of Interior
  1. National indicators are disaggregated by sex, citizenship and age group but there are no breakdowns for first versus subsequent applications, accompanied and unaccompanied minors or to identify decisions based on Dublin closures or relocations. 
  2. The national indicator on pending cases does not contain breakdowns for the duration of pending plus it only includes applications that have passed the admission phase so national totals are likely to be lower than the EPS indicator on pending cases. 
  3. The national indicator on withdrawn applications does not have a breakdown for explicit versus implicit withdrawals.
  4. The national indicator on 1st instance decisions does not have a breakdown for the duration of procedure.
  5. There is no national indicator on otherwise closed cases.
  6. National indicators include other information beyond the scope of the EPS indicators, such as provinces and and type of locations where applicants lodged their applications and main recognition rates.
FI Finland Immigration Service No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 
FR France

Ministry of Interior

No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 
FR France French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 
GR Greece Asylum Service No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 
HR Croatia Ministry of Interior No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 
HU Hungary National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 
IE Ireland International Protection Office No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 
IT Italy Department of Civil Liberties and Immigration, Ministry of Interior No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 
LT Lithuania Migration Department, Ministry of Interior No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 
LU Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs National indicators do not include children born on the Luxembourgish territory during the asylum procedure of its parents, while those children are included in the EUAA statistics. Another reason for differences can be adjustments of the data that are carried out retrospectively on the provisional data provided to EUAA.
LV Latvia Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 
MT Malta International Protection Agency No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 
NL Netherlands Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 
NO Norway Directorate for Immigration (in Norwegian only)

Applications: National indicators are based on the date of making the applications. The revised numbers for 2022  count persons strictly. So if one person applied for both international protection and TPD only one is counted. The pseudo-algorithm for withdrawals are disregarded compared to other statuses. If a person have multiple TPDs only, the first one is counted. The same for multiple applications for international protection.

Decisions issued: National indicators are based on the most recent decision at first instance before the case is transferred to second/final instance. For example, if a person receives a decision of implicit withdrawal and then re-appears, and receives another decision this decision will be reported in the statistics. We use the same logic to Eurostat, but the first deicion is reports to EUAA."

PL Poland Office for Foreigners

No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 

PT Portugal Immigration and Borders Service No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 

 

RO Romania General Inspectorate for Immigration No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 
SE Sweden Migration Agency

No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 

SI Slovenia Ministry of Interior No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 
SK Slovakia Ministry of Interior No major differences are expected between national and EUAA data. If discrepancies occur, they could be the result of differences in the timing of data extraction, the scope of data definitions, collection methodologies and/or retrospective revisions. 

 

Definitions

Asylum applications include all persons who have lodged or have been included in an application for international protection as a family member in the reporting country during the reporting month.

EU+ refers to the 27 European Union Member States, plus Norway and Switzerland.

First instance decisions include all persons covered by decisions issued on granting EU-regulated international protection status (refugee or subsidiary protection) following a first time or repeated application for international protection in the first instance determination process.

Stock of pending cases includes all cases for which an asylum application has been lodged and are under consideration by the national authority responsible for the first instance determination of the application for international protection (until the first instance decision has been issued) at the end of the reference period (i.e. last day of the reference month). It refers to the “stock” of applications for which decisions at first instance are still pending.

The EU+ recognition rate includes EU-regulated forms of protection (refugee status and subsidiary protection) and excludes national protection forms (humanitarian reasons). It is calculated by dividing the number of positive first instance decisions (granting refugee status or subsidiary protection) by the total number of decisions issued