Asylum to EU: Bangladesh berths 2nd in S Asian applications
Staff Reporter :A record number of Bangladeshis sought asylum in European countries in 2024, despite facing an overwhelming rejection rate.
Data released by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) on 3 March revealed that approximately 43,236 Bangladeshis applied for asylum in EU Plus nations last year, marking the highest number ever recorded.
However, more than 96 per cent of these applications were denied.
The number of asylum seekers from Bangladesh in 2024 represented a 7.2 per cent increase from the 40,332 applications recorded the previous year.
The majority of these applications were filed in two distinct periods: 23,003 from January to June, and an additional 20,233 from July to December.
According to EUAA statistics, 2024 saw the highest number of Bangladeshi asylum applications in the past decade.
Italy emerged as the primary destination, accounting for 77 per cent of the total Bangladeshi applications within the EU Plus region, with 33,455 Bangladeshis seeking asylum there. France and Ireland followed, with 6,429 and 1,006 applications, respectively.
At the end of 2024, there was a significant backlog, with 47,778 Bangladeshi applications still pending. Additionally, 1,989 applicants chose to withdraw their cases.
The positive recognition rate for Bangladeshis stood at only 3.9 per cent, one of the lowest among all nationalities applying for asylum.
Among South Asian nations, Bangladesh ranked second in asylum applications, trailing Afghanistan, which recorded 87,382 applications. Pakistan followed with 23,240 applications.
Overall, EU Plus countries received nearly a million asylum applications for the third consecutive year in 2024. However, a slight decline compared to 2023 indicated a departure from the usual seasonal trend in the latter half of the year.
The EUAA noted that nearly half of all applications (48 per cent) in 2024 came from countries with a low recognition rate (20 per cent or below), including Bangladesh, Morocco, and Tunisia.
Asylum applications encompass all individuals who have either filed for international protection or have been included in a family member’s application. The EU Plus region includes the 27 European Union member states, along with Norway and Switzerland.