In 2022, EU countries granted protection status to 384,245 asylum seekers, up by 40% compared with 2021 (275,040), but in Cyprus, only 580 cases were granted (from 2,305), according to Eurostat.
Of the 580 that received protection status in Cyprus last year, 570 were approved through first-instance decisions (compared to 2,290 in 2021), and 10 received protection status after an appeal or review (15 in 2021).
There were 8,995 new applications and 4,255 appeals or reviews (13,250), while in 2021, there were 12,270 new applications and 2,605 appeals or reviews (14,875).
Applications declined slightly in 2022, but the share of positive decisions declined significantly (2,305 positive decisions out of 14,875 applications in 2021, compared to 580 positive decisions from 13,250).
Among the 384,245 asylum seekers who were granted protection status in the EU, 44% received refugee status, 31% were given subsidiary protection, and 25% received humanitarian protection.
Compared with 2021, the number of refugee status granted increased by 22%, subsidiary protection was up by 48%, and humanitarian protection registered the highest increase with 72%.
The highest number of people who received protection status was in Germany (159,365 or 41% of the EU total), ahead of France (49,990 or 13%), Italy (39,660 or 10%), and Spain (35,765 or 9%).
Together, these four countries granted 73% of the protection requests at the EU level.
Main beneficiaries
Syrians were the largest group who obtained protection status in the EU (29% of the total granted protection status). They were followed by Afghans (23%) and Venezuelans (6%).
The majority of Syrians (68%) and Afghans (55%) were granted protection status in Germany, while almost all Venezuelans (92%) were granted protection status in Spain.
In 2022, 632,360 first-instance decisions on asylum applications were made in the EU, and a further 218,260 final decisions following an appeal or review.
Decisions made at the first instance resulted in 310,400 grants of protection status, while another 73,845 people received protection status after an appeal or review.
The recognition rate at the EU level, i.e. the share of all positive decisions among the total number of decisions, was 49% for first-instance decisions.
For final decisions in appeal or review, the recognition rate was 34%.
Among the top 10 citizenships that received first-instance decisions in 2022, Syrians (94%), Afghans (85%) and Venezuelans (76%) had the highest recognition rates, while Colombians and Georgians (both 8%) and Bangladeshis (11%) had the lowest.
For final instance decisions after an appeal or review, the citizenships with the highest recognition rates were Syrians (80%), Afghans (75%) and Iranians (44%), while the lowest recognition rates were registered among Georgians (8%), Bangladeshis (16%) and Pakistanis (21%).
