Asylum applications in January 2026

In January 2026, 51 160 first-time asylum applicants (non-EU citizens) applied for international protection in EU countries, marking a 23% decrease compared with January 2025 (66 745) and a 7% increase compared with December 2025 (47 650).

There were also 9 500 subsequent applicants, representing a 9% increase compared with January 2025 (8 710) and a 3% increase compared with December 2025 (9 240).

This information comes from monthly asylum data published by Eurostat today.

Source dataset: migr_asyappctzm

Largest group of asylum seekers from Venezuela

In January 2026, Venezuelans were the largest group of people seeking asylum (7 300 first-time applicants), followed by Afghans (4 790), Bangladeshis (2 940) and Egyptians (2 280).

Spain, Italy, France and Germany received 75% of first-time applicants

Spain (10 860), Italy (10 660), France (9 290) and Germany (7 645) received the highest number of first-time asylum applicants, accounting for 75% of all first-time applicants in the EU.

There were 11.4 first-time asylum applicants per hundred thousand people in the EU in January 2026. Compared with the population of each EU country (on 1 January 2025), the highest rates of first-time applicants were recorded in Greece (46.7), ahead of Spain (22.1) and Ireland (20.1).

1 220 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum

Based on available data, in January 2026, a total of 1 220 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum for the first time in the EU. The highest numbers of unaccompanied minors came from Egypt (270), Somalia (175), Venezuela (155), Afghanistan (140) and Sudan (70).

Source dataset: migr_asyumactm

The EU countries that received the highest number of asylum applications from unaccompanied minors were Greece (375), Germany (200), Spain (170), the Netherlands (135) and France (110).