EUAA Report: Syrian and Afghanistan Nationals Were Top Applicants for Asylum in 2021
According to the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA), the two largest countries of origin of the applicants were Syria and Afghanistan, with the new arrivals lodging 117,000 and 102,000 asylum requests, respectively, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
This accounts for a one-third increase compared to 2020 and is equal to the level of applications filed in 2018. Furthermore, one in three applications came from minors, showing that four per cent of applications or 23,600 of those were filed by children, showing a two-thirds increase compared to the previous year.
Although Syrians and Afghans represent the two main countries of origin for applicants and account for the highest number of applications filed, Iraqi nationals follow with 30,000 applications.
Pakistan and Turkiye account for the fourth and fifth position with 25,000 applications, respectively, followed by Bangladeshi nationals, who have filed 20,000 asylum requests in 2021.
The report further shows that 535,000 decisions at first instance were taken, with 118,000 being granted refugee status and 64,000 receiving subsidiary protection. The result recognition rate stood at 34 per cent for the first instance for granting refugee status and subsidiary protection, while taking into account the national protection schemes, the rate increased to approximately 40 per cent.
However, regarding Ukrainian refugees, the EU Interior Ministers decided to grant temporary protection to people fleeing the country for up to one year.
As of June 28, nearly six million people have been headed towards the EU, with 3.4 million of those registering for temporary protections, as EUAA analysis reveals. Data from UNHCR reveals that nearly 2.6 million people have travelled to Ukraine, with these returns possibly being temporary.
22,300 people have requested asylum across the EU Member States. Refugees have rated the offered living conditions with 3.6 out of five scoring points, indicating that life in their hosting country is relatively good. In addition, children’s education has been rated with 3.4 scoring points, while access to legal services and medical care has been rated lowest, with 3.2 points out of a total of five.
The report further shows that the Member States took 114,300 decisions on Dublin requests in 2021, with France and Germany being the main recipients of their requests while Italy issued the most decisions.
“While the number of decisions represented a one-fifth increase compared to 2020, the acceptance rate continued to decrease for the 4th year in a row. Moreover, persistent COVID-19 restrictions in 2021 meant that only about 13,500 Dublin transfers were effectively carried out, which is consistent with 2020 but remains around half of the 2019 figure,” the report explains.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, some Member States started making asylum-related alternatives, such as remote screening interviews and allowing the submission of documents for asylum requests online.
