Eurostat’s 23 October release records 34,145 first-time asylum applicants from outside the EU in July. The agency reports a 39% fall from July 2025 and an 8% decline from June 2026.
France, Italy, Greece, Spain and Germany received 72% of first-time applications. Afghan citizens formed the largest nationality group, followed by applicants from Sudan, Bangladesh and Syria.
The comparison needs a qualification: from July, statistics count registered applications under an amended methodology, whereas earlier figures concerned applications lodged. Eurostat also identifies breaks in the Italian and Slovenian series and provisional data for several countries.
Context
These are applications for international protection, not counts of asylum approvals or all migration into Europe.
Sources
Original summary based on the sources above, checked for the October 25, 2026 edition. Reference dates are shown separately from the edition date.