Bangladeshis lodge record asylum applications to EU+ in 2021, tops in rejection as well

A record number of Bangladeshis applied for asylum in European countries last year although some 96% of the applications were rejected.

According to recent EU Agency for Asylum (EUAA) data, around 20,000 Bangladeshis applied for international protection in the EU+ in 2021 – the most on record and became the sixth-largest group of asylum applicants in the region.

From 2020, Bangladeshi applications increased by three quarters and – as was the case for other top citizenships, reports EUAA adding that the majority was lodged in the second half of the year, with a distinct peak in September (some 2,800 applications).

Furthermore, nine in 10 Bangladeshi asylum applications in the EU+ were lodged by first-time applicants.

Applications by self-claimed UAMs from Bangladesh increased at a higher rate than overall applications (+174% compared to the previous year), resulting in about 1,400 applications by UAMs (the most on record), EUAA added.

This accounted for a relatively small proportion of all Bangladeshi applications (7%) but represented the fourth largest group among all UAMs seeking asylum in the EU+.

With some 16,300 first instance decisions issued across the EU+, the decision making on Bangladeshi applications also increased in 2021 – up by two thirds from the previous year and close to the peak of 2018.

In addition, withdrawals by Bangladeshi applicants more than doubled compared to a year earlier: some 2,400 applications were withdrawn and eight in 10 withdrawals were implicit.

These case closures partly explain the slight decline in pending cases despite the high inflow of applications. At the end of December 2021, some 12,700 Bangladeshi cases were still pending at first instance.

Three fifths of all Bangladeshi applications in the EU+ had been pending for less than six months.

The EU+ recognition rate for Bangladeshis was 4% in 2021, one of the lowest recognition rates of all citizenships seeking asylum in the EU+.

Of the relatively few positive decisions, three quarters granted refugee status and the remainder granted subsidiary protection.

As per EUAA's findings, the number of asylum seekers in the EU Member States increased by a third – accounting for 617,800 applications.

Such figures resemble pre-pandemic levels, years 2017 to 2019, but with a special demand in repeated applications, which marked the highest rates since 2014, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

The number of first-time applications also surged jumping from 410,327 to 527,408, about 29% more than in 2020, while the number of repeated applications blew out in 2021, about 75% more than in 2020, increasing from 50,945 to 89,114.

Applicants from other countries to apply for asylum more than in 2020 include Iraqi nationals (28,700), Pakistani (24,600), Turks (23,700) and Bangladeshi (20,000). Arrivals from countries like Somalia, Nigeria, Morocco and the rest of Africa also marked an increase compared to 2020, accounting for 2.6%, 2.5% and 2.4% of all applications reported last year.

Syrians and Afghans make up for 33% of all applications lodged, 41% of the remaining applications were submitted by other countries, with an enhanced increase noticed in Belarussian applicants, which tripled their applications and North Macedonians that recorded a four-fold increase.

In contrast, asylum applications submitted by Venezuelans, Colombians and other Latin Americans decreased compared to 2020.

Another anomaly noticed in 2021 is the number of unaccompanied minors, which almost reached 2016 levels – the year when the great migration crisis in the EU occurred. About 27,300 applications for international protections were submitted by unaccompanied minors – the highest rate in the last three years and only 2,000 applications short of 2016.

Of these applications, Bangladesh stands in the third position with 1,600 applications which is a 174% increase from 2020.

However, unaccompanied minors accounted for only 7% of the total applications submitted from Bangladesh.

According to a report by Save the Children last June, some 22.5% or 1,556 unaccompanied minors who migrated to Italy in 2020 were Bangladeshis, which is 14% more than it was in 2019.

The number of total applications issued increased slightly from 2020 levels, about 2,000 more.

However, the number of applications was higher than decisions issued by some 95,000 applications.

 Consequently, the number of cases pending at first instance surged in the last months to about 442,500, with half of these cases being on pending status for less than six months.

Meanwhile, the positive rates for asylum applications were higher for Eritreans (81%), Yemenis (79%), Belarusians (75%) and Syrians (72%). Almost two-thirds of positive-decision recipients were granted refugee status in 2021, while the rest received subsidiary protection.

In 2021, the average acceptance rate of asylum seekers in all countries was 35%.

In addition, out of 523,023 total first instance decisions, 342,563 received a negative decision – accounting for 65.4% of all decisions.