In March 2026, 47 100 first-time asylum applicants (non-EU citizens) applied for international protection in EU countries, a 19% decrease compared with March 2025 (58 025) and a 1% increase compared with February 2026 (46 420).
There were also 10 075 subsequent applicants, representing a 28% increase compared with March 2025 (7 855) and an 11% increase compared with February 2026 (9 080).
In the first quarter of 2026, 205 945 first instance asylum decisions were issued in the EU, up 4% compared with the same period of the previous year (198 560) and 10% less compared with the previous quarter (230 035). Out of these decisions, 41% were positive (84 925).
This information comes from the monthly and quarterly asylum data published by Eurostat today. This article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained articles on monthly asylum applications statistics and on quarterly asylum decisions statistics.
Source dataset: migr_asyappctzm
Largest group of asylum seekers from Venezuela
In March 2026, Venezuelans were the largest group of people seeking asylum (6 880 first-time applicants), followed by Afghans (4 180), Bangladeshis (3 195) and Syrians (1 690).
Italy, Spain, France and Germany received 80% of first-time applicants
Italy (10 900), Spain (10 840), France (8 895) and Germany (6 980) received the highest number of first-time asylum applicants, accounting for 80% of all first-time applicants in the EU.
There were 10.5 first-time asylum applicants per hundred thousand people in the EU in March 2026. Compared with the population of each EU country (on 1 January 2025), the highest rates of first-time applicants were recorded in Greece (23.2), ahead of Spain (22.1) and Cyprus (19.0).
1 035 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum
In March 2026, a total of 1 035 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum for the first time in the EU. The highest numbers of unaccompanied minors came from Somalia (260), Venezuela (165), Afghanistan (130), Sudan (65) and Syria (50).
Source dataset: migr_asyumactm
The EU countries that received the highest number of asylum applications from unaccompanied minors were Germany (280), the Netherlands (190), Spain (185), France (105) and Greece (80).
Positive asylum decisions in the first quarter of 2026 up year-on-year
In the first quarter of 2026, EU countries granted protection status at first instance to 84 925 asylum seekers, a 28% increase compared with the same quarter of 2025 (66 575) and an 18% decrease from the fourth quarter of 2025 (103 580).
Among asylum seekers granted protection status at first instance in the EU, 53% received refugee status, 24% were given subsidiary protection and 23% received humanitarian status.
Germany (27 860), Spain (16 820), and France (15 210) issued the highest numbers of positive decisions at first instance in the first quarter of 2026. Afghans (24 960), Venezuelans (10 435) and Syrians (6 505) were the main beneficiaries of protection status in the EU in the same period.