Sharp fall in Syrian asylum applications drives EU-wide drop in 2025

The number of asylum applications in the European Union, as well as in Norway and Switzerland, fell sharply again last year, data showed.

A total of around 822,000 applications were registered across the 27 EU member states and the two partner countries, marking a 19% decline compared with 2024, a report by the Malta-based EU Agency for Asylum found.

The big drop was driven mainly by a decrease in applications from Syria. Some 42,000 Syrians applied for asylum in 2025, compared with 151,000 in 2024. Applications also declined from Bangladesh, which recorded 37,000 applications, and from Turkey, with 33,000.

In Syria, the overthrow of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 has given many people hope for a better future, contributing to the lower number of asylum requests, the report said.

By contrast, the number of applications from Afghanistan rose to 117,000, while applications from Venezuela increased to 91,000.

The rise in Venezuelan applications was attributed in part to more restrictive immigration rules in the United States and tighter visa requirements for Venezuelans in neighbouring Latin American countries.

With 163,000 applications, Germany was once again the main destination country, although the figure was down by nearly one third compared with 2024.

Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece and France received the highest numbers of applications, together accounting for 80% of all asylum requests registered in the EU, Norway and Switzerland in 2025.