Turkey 'moves up' to third place in first-time asylum applications to EU in 2022

Turkish citizens have “risen” to third place among first-time asylum seekers in the European Union (EU) countries in 2022, with nearly 58,000 people compared to the previous year.

Thursday July 06 2023 07:06 pm

Duvar English

Nearly 58,000 Turkish citizens in 2022 applied for asylum in European Union (EU) countries for the first time, ranking them as the third most frequent asylum seekers in the EU according to the European Statistical Office (Eurostat).

Turkish citizens ranked fifth in the same list in 2021 with 20,315 applications marking a 150 percent increase in one year, according to online news outlet Euronews Turkey.

Looking at the countries of first-time asylum applicants, Syrian (131,970) and Afghan (113,495) citizens are by far in the first two places.

Half of Turkish citizens in 2022 chose Germany for their first asylum application. After that, most asylum applications were made to France. These two countries ranked the highest among all applications as well.

Pending cases of Turkish citizens for international protection in EU countries along with Norway and Switzerland increased 78 percent at the end of 2022 compared to the previous year, according to European Union Agency of Asylum (EUAA).

More than 26,000 Turkish citizens have applied for asylum in Europe since the beginning of 2023, an EU official told ANKA News Agency.