Albanian asylum applications in EU countries increase again, here are the 3 countries with the highest requests

After several months of slowdown, applications by Albanian citizens for asylum in one of the European Union countries have resumed growth in October.

Eurostat data, processed by Monitor, revealed that in October 2024, a total of 685 asylum applications were registered, which is the highest number since February of this year, when the figure was 750.

However, compared to 2023, departures through requests for temporary protection have decreased. In total, for the period January-October 2024, there were 6,170 asylum requests, a decrease of 19.6% compared to the same period a year earlier.

The highest number of applications in the last 5 years was recorded in 2022-2, when a new wave of immigration swept the country. In January-October 2022, there were a total of about 11 thousand asylum applications.

France continues to be the main country where most of those applying for temporary protection go. In January-October 2024, almost 2 thousand applications were registered in this country, known for its social policies. It is followed by Italy (1550), Germany (1250), Greece (850).

In October 2024, 86,945 non-EU citizens applied for asylum for the first time in European Union countries, a decrease of 24 percent compared to October 2023.

There were also 7,475 subsequent applicants, which represents an increase of 11% compared to October 2023 (6,725).

Syrians remain the largest group of asylum seekers

Syrians remain the largest group of people seeking asylum (15,815 first-time applicants), followed by Venezuelans (7,305), Afghans (5,870) and Turks (4,640).

Germany (20,565), Spain (15,780), Italy (13,715) and France (13,135) continued to receive the largest number of first-time asylum applicants, accounting for 73% of all first-time applicants in the EU.

The EU total rate of first-time asylum applicants in October 2024 was 19.4 per hundred thousand people. Compared to the population of each EU country (as of 1 January 2024), the highest rates of first-time applications were recorded in Greece (79.4), ahead of Cyprus (51.3).

A total of 3,295 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum for the first time in the EU, with the majority of them coming from Syria (1,095) and Afghanistan (450).

The EU country that received the highest number of asylum applications from unaccompanied minors was Germany (1,010), followed by Greece (445), Spain (340), the Netherlands (325) and Belgium (295)./monitor