Cyprus: Cyprus recorded 140 first-time asylum applicants and 110 subsequent applicants in January 2026, according to monthly asylum data published by Eurostat on Wednesday.
According to Cyprus News Agency, for the same month at the European Union level, 51,160 third-country nationals submitted a first-time application for international protection. This marked a 23% decrease compared with January 2025, which saw 66,745 applications, but a 7% increase compared with December 2025, when there were 47,650 applications.
At the same time, 9,500 subsequent asylum applicants were recorded, showing a 9% increase year-on-year and a 3% rise month-on-month. The largest group of first-time asylum applicants originated from Venezuela, with 7,300 applications, followed by Afghanistan with 4,790 applications, Bangladesh with 2,940, and Egypt with 2,280 applications.
Spain, Italy, France, and Germany received the highest number of first-time asylum applications, together accounting for 75% of all applications in the European Union. Spain received 10,860 applications, Italy 10,660, France 9,290, and Germany 7,645.
In per capita terms, the EU average stood at 11.4 first-time asylum applicants per 100,000 inhabitants. Greece recorded the highest rate at 46.7 per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Spain and Ireland, with rates of 22.1 and 20.1 respectively.
A total of 1,220 unaccompanied minors submitted a first-time asylum application in the EU in January 2026. The largest groups of unaccompanied minors came from Egypt, Somalia, Venezuela, Afghanistan, and Sudan. Cyprus received 10 applications from unaccompanied minors according to Eurostat, with Greece, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and France receiving the highest numbers.