Requests by Albanian citizens for asylum in one of the European Union countries have shown an upward trend at the end of last year, after having been declining during the summer period.
According to data published by INSTAT, a total of 505 asylum applications were registered in October 2025, which is the highest level since January. In August, the number of applications had dropped to 315.
Despite the increase in October, applications for international protection have been declining for the first 10 months of 2025. For the period January-October, a total of 4,345 people sought asylum, a decrease of 29.5% compared to the same period a year earlier.
Compared to 2022, when a new peak in immigration was recorded, after the pandemic, with 11 thousand applications for the 10-month period, they have now been more than halved. France continues to remain the most preferred country to seek asylum due to its social policies, followed by Germany.
While asylum applications for the 10-month period are falling, other Eurostat data revealed that the most preferred form of escape is work permits. Eurostat reported that in 2022-2024 alone, an average of 20,000 work permits were granted per year, mainly in Italy, Greece and Germany, up from around 3-4,000 a decade ago.
Since 2021, the European Union has granted around 72,000 first-time residence permits for employment reasons to Albanian citizens.
The number of those fleeing with work permits is now almost twice as high as those seeking to leave through asylum. Other Eurostat data shows that in 2022 there were 15 thousand asylum applications from Albanian citizens in EU countries, in 2023 their number dropped to 11 thousand and in 2024 it was 9.3 thousand.
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In October 2025, 62,010 first-time asylum applicants (non-EU nationals) applied for international protection in European Union countries, marking a decrease of 28% compared to October 2024 (86,470) and an increase of 6% compared to September 2025 (58,495).
Meanwhile, 14,495 repeat applicants were also registered, representing an 80% increase compared to October 2024 (8,075) and a 10% decrease compared to September 2025 (16,185).
The largest group of asylum seekers from Venezuela
In October 2025, Venezuelans were the largest group of people seeking asylum (8,140 first-time applicants), followed by Afghans (5,920), Bangladeshis (3,400) and Syrians (2,915).
Spain, Italy, France and Germany received 74% of first-time applicants
Spain (12,885), Italy (12,650), France (11,245) and Germany (8,815) recorded the highest number of first-time asylum applicants, representing 74% of all first-time applicants in the EU.
In October 2025, there were 13.8 first-time asylum applicants per 100,000 inhabitants in the EU. Compared to the population of each EU country (as of 1 January 2025), the highest rates of first-time applicants were recorded in Greece (58.1), followed by Cyprus (33.9) and Spain (26.3).
1,710 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum
In October 2025, a total of 1,710 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum for the first time in the EU. The highest number of unaccompanied minors came from Somalia (245), Egypt (215), Eritrea (200), Afghanistan (190) and Venezuela (180).
The European Union countries that received the highest number of asylum applications from unaccompanied minors were the Netherlands (350), Greece (325), Germany (245) and Spain (215).
The European Union countries that received the highest number of asylum applications from unaccompanied minors were the Netherlands (350), Greece (325), Germany (245) and Spain (215)./Monitor.al/
