EU Asylum Data Shows Vastly Different Outcomes for Russian and Syrian Applicants

The European Union granted asylum to more than 90% of Syrian applicants in 2024, while rejecting more than three-quarters of those from Russia, according to new data from the bloc's statistical office, Eurostat. The figures highlight a stark divergence in how the EU treats asylum seekers from different conflict-affected regions.
Overall, the EU received 912,415 first-time asylum applications in 2024, a 13% decrease from the previous year. Syrian nationals constituted the largest group of applicants with 148,185 requests, followed by citizens of Venezuela, Afghanistan, Colombia, and Turkey. The average approval rate across all nationalities was 51.4%.[1]
For the 10,625 Russian citizens who applied for asylum, the path was significantly harder. Only 24% of their applications were approved at the first instance. The majority of these applications were filed in Germany (4,700) and France (2,135).
In sharp contrast, applicants from Syria saw a first-instance recognition rate of 91.5%, the highest among major applicant groups.[1] High approval rates were also recorded for applicants from Palestine, Venezuela, Mali, Ukraine, Eritrea, and Afghanistan, all of which exceeded the EU average.
The data underscores the EU's varying approaches to different national groups, with those fleeing state-sanctioned violence and widespread civil war, as in Syria and Afghanistan, receiving a much higher likelihood of protection than those from Russia. Russian citizens have increasingly sought asylum in the EU since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, citing political persecution, opposition to the war, and avoidance of military mobilization.