Fewer than 40,000 non-EU citizens applied for asylum in the EU for the first time in June 2026.
A total of 37,075 people made a first-time application for international protection in EU countries in June, down 29% from June 2025 and 13% from May 2026, Eurostat reported on Wednesday.
There were also 5,900 subsequent applicants — people applying again after a previous application — down 32% year-on-year and 27% compared with the previous month.
People from Bangladesh were the largest group of first-time applicants in June, with 3,495 applications, followed by applicants from Afghanistan (2,990), Sudan (2,345) and Venezuela (1,790).
Italy received 9,660 first-time applicants, closely followed by France with 9,165, while Germany recorded 4,265 and Greece 3,955, together accounting for 73% of the EU total.
Unaccompanied minors and asylum decisions
A total of 1,105 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum in the EU for the first time in June, Eurostat said.
Most of these unaccompanied children came from Somalia (215) and Egypt (150), followed by Afghanistan (105), Sudan (80) and Eritrea (65).
Greece received the most applications from unaccompanied minors in June (260), followed by Germany (230), the Netherlands (170), France (150) and Belgium (55).
In the second quarter of 2026, EU countries issued 181,060 first-instance asylum decisions — initial decisions by authorities — down 7% from the same quarter a year earlier and 14% from the previous quarter.
Of those decisions, 41% were positive, totalling 74,780 grants of protection status.
Germany (18,655), Spain (15,815) and France (14,135) recorded the highest numbers of positive first-instance decisions, while Afghans (16,200), Venezuelans (9,940) and Syrians (7,350) were the main groups granted protection status.
