Record increase in asylum seekers from Turkey to the EU

Asylum applications from Turkey to the European Union reached the highest number since 2014, a report by the EU said on Wednesday.

 According to data released by the EU Asylum Agency, the number of Turkish people who applied for asylum in August was 4.600, the most since at least 2014.

Turks were the third largest applicant group of applicants, only behind Afghans and Syrians.

Nearly all Turkish applicants (94%) who sought asylum in the EU+ in August, did so for the first time. Just around 1% of all applicants were self-claimed unaccompanied minors, the analysis showed. 

The recognition rate for Turkish applicants has been in decline since the beginning of the year and, in August, dropped further to 36%, the lowest in more than two years. 

However, Turks continued to receive almost exclusively refugee status: the share of positive decisions that granted refugee status (95% in August) was one of the highest among all citizenships. Only 5 % of positive decisions granted subsidiary protection.

The agency said the total number of asylum applications in August reached 84.500, “a new high since the refugee crisis of 2015/2016.”

In addition, some 255.000 registrations for temporary protection were made in August, nearly all concerning Ukrainians. Together, asylum applications and registrations for temporary protection so far in 2022 have surpassed 5 million.