After a slowdown in the summer, requests from Albanian citizens for asylum have increased again in the last months of 2023.
According to Eurostat data, over 870 applications were registered in one of the European Union countries in October and November, down from less than 700 during the summer months, reaching the highest level since March 2013.
However, compared to the previous year, the number of applications is still down, but the upward trend of recent months may signal a revival of the immigration cycle, which after peaking in 2022 slowed down for most of 2023- t.
According to Eurostat, for the period January-November 2023, there were a total of 8,575 applications for asylum for the 11 months from Albanian citizens in one of the EU countries. Compared to the same period a year ago, applications have fallen by 29%.
But, unlike previous years, when the largest number of applications was in the summer and then decreased, in 2023 the trend has been reversed. Applications have increased in September, October and November (see the chart: Applications for asylum of Albanian citizens in the EU, by month).
France continues to be the most preferred country for Albanian asylum seekers, marking a significant increase compared to the summer months. The same trend was noted for Germany, where after a fall in the summer, an increase was found in October and November.
According to Eurostat data, for the entire 11 months, France received 43% of applications, followed by Germany with 27% and 18.5% in Italy.
Europe
According to Eurostat, in October 2023 114,830 non-EU nationals applied for international protection in EU countries for the first time, an increase of 17% compared to October 2022 (97,980).
There were also 6,225 repeat applications, representing a 2% decrease compared to October 2022 (6,380).
Syrian nationals remain the largest group of asylum seekers
Following the same trend of the previous months, even in October Syrians continued to be the largest group of people seeking asylum (24,330 first-time applications). They were followed by Turks (15,630), Afghans (9,900), Venezuelans (5,070) and Colombians (4,835).
Germany, Italy, France and Spain received 66% of all first-time asylum applications
As in previous months, in October 2023, Germany (34,000), Italy (14,950), France (14,900) and Spain (12,505) continued to receive the highest number of first-time asylum applications, accounting for 66% of all first-time applications in the EU.
In October 2023, the total of all first-time asylum applications across the EU was 256 per million people.
Compared to the population of each EU country (on 1 January 2023), the highest rate of applications registered for the first time in October 2023 was recorded in Cyprus (1 188 per million people), Austria (1 050) and Greece (959). While the lowest rate was recorded in Hungary (0.3).
5,040 unaccompanied minors applying for asylum in EU countries
In October 2023, 5,040 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum for the first time in the EU, mainly from Syria (1,975) and Afghanistan (1,150).
The EU countries that received the highest number of asylum applications from unaccompanied minors were Germany (1,635), the Netherlands (950), Austria (720), Bulgaria (485) and Greece (425)./MONITOR
