Asylum applications across the European Union and associated countries declined sharply in the first half of 2026, reaching their lowest level for the first six months of a year since 2021. However, applications from Bangladeshi nationals moved in the opposite direction, rising by 13% compared with the same period last year.
According to a report released Thursday by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), around 332,000 applications for international protection were lodged across the EU+ — the EU member states plus Switzerland and Norway — between January and June 2026. The figure was 17% lower than in the first half of 2025.
The EUAA attributed the overall decline to stricter migration policies, political developments in major countries of origin and increased cooperation between the EU and key origin and transit countries.
Applications from Syrian nationals fell significantly following political changes in Syria. The EU has also strengthened cooperation with North African countries, including Tunisia and Mauritania, under arrangements involving economic assistance and investment in exchange for greater migration controls.
Despite conflicts in the Middle East, the EUAA said asylum applications from affected countries had not increased at the expected rate.
Afghan nationals submitted the highest number of asylum applications during the first half of the year, with around 39,000 applications. Venezuela ranked second, followed by Bangladesh.
Bangladeshi nationals filed 17,327 applications during the first half of 2025, compared with 19,521 during the same period this year — an increase of roughly 13%.
The EUAA said fewer than one-third of applications processed during the first six months of 2026 were granted protection.
Under new rules that took effect in June, applications from nationals of countries where the recognition rate is below 20%, or countries designated by the EU as “safe”, are subject to accelerated processing. Rejected applicants may also face faster return procedures.
Around 56% of applications lodged during the first half of 2026 fell under these criteria. The group included nationals of Bangladesh, Egypt, Venezuela and Türkiye. Except for Turkish applicants, whose first-instance recognition rate was about 18%, the recognition rate for applicants from these countries was below 5%.
France received the largest number of asylum applications among EU member states, with around 69,000 cases, accounting for roughly one-fifth of the total. Italy followed with 66,000, while Spain and Germany each recorded about 55,000 applications.
Together, the four countries accounted for nearly three-quarters of all applications. Greece recorded the highest number relative to its population, with around 23,000 applications.
Backlog of pending cases
At the end of June, around 770,000 asylum cases were pending at the first-instance level across the EU+, an 8% decline from a year earlier. When administrative and judicial stages are combined, however, the total number of pending cases stood at around 1.18 million.
Venezuelan nationals accounted for the largest first-instance backlog, with around 129,000 pending cases, followed by Syria with 76,000, Colombia with 64,000, Peru with 38,000 and Bangladesh with 36,000.
Although authorities have increased the pace of processing new applications, the number of cases that had been pending for more than six months remained largely unchanged. As a result, older cases accounted for 73% of the first-instance backlog, up from 68% a year earlier.
The EUAA’s figures highlight Bangladesh as one of the leading countries of origin for asylum applicants in Europe. Nearly 20,000 Bangladeshi nationals sought international protection in EU+ countries during the first half of 2026, placing Bangladesh third behind Afghanistan and Venezuela.
The data also indicate that Bangladeshi applicants face a very low first-instance recognition rate, below 5%, while around 36,000 Bangladesh-related cases were awaiting a decision at the first-instance level.
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