Immigration

Asylum seekers: Italy ranks second in terms of applications, behind France

According to the report Latest Asylum Trends: Mid-Year Review 2026, the number of applications in the region comprising the EU, Switzerland and Norway has fallen to 332,000

by Vittoria Belluschi

10 September 2026

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Migranti a bordo dell’Ocean Viking, una nave operata dall’Ong Sos Mediterranee. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe REUTERS

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Key points

Trends in asylum applications
The host countries with the most applications
The trend in Italia
The recognition rate

3' min read

Applications for international protection lodged in the EU+ area – which, in addition to the countries of the European Union, includes Switzerland and Norway – have fallen by 17 per cent. This was reported by the European Union Agency for Asylum (Euaa) in its half-yearly report, ‘Latest Asylum Trends: Mid-Year Review 2026’. There were around 332,000 asylum applications received in the first half of this year, the lowest figure recorded since 2021 and, excluding the pandemic years, the lowest since 2019.

According to the EUAA report, this decline is part of a trend that has been ongoing since the end of 2024. The two main factors behind this decline are the change in the composition of nationalities among applicants and the European Union’s efforts in cooperation with countries of origin and transit. The conflict in the Middle East, however, has had no impact on this phenomenon.

Trends in asylum applications

Looking at the Europe+ area as a whole, Afghans remain the largest group in terms of applications (around 39,000), despite a 7 per cent year-on-year decline. In the first half of 2026, there was an increase in applications for international protection from Bangladesh, a country experiencing a period of severe political instability, and from Sudan, Haiti and Somalia, three countries torn apart by internal conflicts. In stark contrast, Venezuela, where asylum applications fell by almost a third compared with the previous year, and Syria, a country undergoing political transition following the fall of the Assad government at the end of 2024. Colombia, Ukraine and Turkey are also following this downward trend.

The host countries with the most applications

France tops the list for applications for international protection, with around 69,000 applications. In second place is Italia, with 66,000 applications. Germany and Spain follow, tied for third place, with 55,000 applications. Overall, these four countries received approximately 75 per cent of all applications submitted within the EU+ area, a figure that has fallen slightly compared with previous reference periods.

‘Latest Asylum Trends’ also calculates the ratio of the number of asylum applications to the host country’s population. The figures show that Greece is the country with the highest rate, at 2,254 applications per million inhabitants. Our country has 1,127 applications per million citizens, which is higher than the EU+ average of 710.

Trends in Italia

As far as Italia is concerned, citizens of Bangladesh remain the largest group: some 28,000 applications for citizenship have been submitted. Applications are on the rise from Afghanistan (+77 per cent), Egypt (+50 per cent), China (+43 per cent) and Sri Lanka (+23 per cent). In contrast, Morocco and Peru have seen a decline of 22 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.

The recognition rate

In the first half of 2026, the average recognition rate in the Europe+ area stood at 31 per cent. This means that almost one in three decisions at first instance – that is, the first official response – was favourable, with a preference for granting refugee status rather than subsidiary protection. It should be noted that the figures from Latest Asylum Trends do not include national forms of protection, such as humanitarian protection granted by individual countries.

The report highlights a clear disparity in approval rates depending on the applicant’s country of origin: for nationals of Mali and Haiti, the approval rate exceeds 80 per cent; whilst Venezuela, Peru, Bangladesh and Egypt are the countries with the lowest figures, ranging between 3 per cent and 2 per cent.

Finally, with regard to the implementation of accelerated and border procedures, the Pact on Migration and Asylum, which came into force last June, stipulates that these should be applied as a priority to applicants from countries with an average EU recognition rate of 20 per cent or less. These same procedures may also be applied to nationals of countries considered safe. In the first half of 2026, around 56 per cent of all applications submitted in Europe+ met these criteria.