Asylum applications in June 2026

In June 2026, 37 075 non-EU citizens applied for international protection in EU countries for the first time. This was 29% fewer than in June 2025 (52 535) and 13% fewer than in May 2026 (42 525).

There were also 5 900 subsequent applicants, 32% fewer than in June 2025 (8 685) and 27% fewer than in May 2026 (8 050).

This information comes from the monthly and quarterly asylum data published by Eurostat today. This article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained articles on monthly asylum applications statistics and on quarterly asylum decisions statistics.

Source dataset: migr_asyappctzm

Largest group of asylum seekers from Bangladesh

In June 2026, people from Bangladesh formed the largest group of asylum seekers, with 3 495 first-time applicants, followed by applicants from Afghanistan (2 990), Sudan (2 345) and Venezuela (1 790).

Italy, France, Germany and Greece received 73% of first-time applicants

Italy (9 660), France (9 165), Germany (4 265) and Greece (3 955) received the highest number of first-time asylum applicants, together accounting for 73% of all first-time applicants in the EU.

There were 8.2 first-time asylum applicants per hundred thousand inhabitants in the EU in June 2026. Relative to the population of each EU country (on 1 January 2026), Greece had the highest rate of first-time applicants (38.2), followed by Ireland (19.3) and Latvia (19.0).

1 105 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum

In June 2026, 1 105 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum in the EU for the first time. Most unaccompanied minors came from Somalia (215), Egypt (150), Afghanistan (105), Sudan (80) and Eritrea (65).

Source dataset: migr_asyumactm

The EU countries receiving the most asylum applications from unaccompanied minors were Greece (260), Germany (230), the Netherlands (170), France (150) and Belgium (55).

Positive asylum decisions in the second quarter of 2026 down year-on-year

In the second quarter of 2026, EU countries issued 181 060 first instance asylum decisions, 7% fewer than in the same quarter of the previous year (194 880) and 14% fewer than in the previous quarter (209 655). Out of these decisions, 41% were positive (74 780).

Of the asylum seekers granted protection status at first instance in the EU, 49% received refugee status, 23% received subsidiary protection and 28% received humanitarian status.

Germany (18 655), Spain (15 815), and France (14 135) issued the highest numbers of positive first instance decisions in the second quarter of 2026. Afghans (16 200), Venezuelans (9 940) and Syrians (7 350) were the main groups granted protection status in the EU in this period.