First-time asylum applications in the EU fell to 42,960 in April 2026, down 11% from April last year and 9% from March.
The data counts non-EU citizens applying for international protection — the EU term for asylum — for the first time, Eurostat noted in a release on Thursday.
Eurostat also recorded 9,145 “subsequent applicants”, meaning people who made another asylum application after a previous one.
Venezuelans were the largest group of first-time applicants in April, with 4,875 people, followed by Afghans (3,830), Bangladeshis (2,630) and Sudanese (1,720).
Italy received the highest number of first-time applicants at 9,710, followed by France (8,645), Spain (8,350) and Germany (6,140), which together accounted for 76% of the EU total.
Rates and unaccompanied minors
There were 9.5 first-time asylum applicants per 100,000 people across the EU in April, based on population figures from 1 January 2026, according to Eurostat.
Greece recorded the highest rate at 26.1 first-time applicants per 100,000 people, followed by Luxembourg (20.6) and Ireland (18.7).
A total of 930 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum for the first time in the EU in April, Eurostat said. The largest numbers came from Somalia (190), Afghanistan (100), Sudan (75), Egypt (75) and Venezuela (55).
Germany received 195 asylum applications from unaccompanied minors, followed by the Netherlands (190), France (95), Greece (90) and Spain (85).
