Asylum requests filed in France have exceeded pre-pandemic levels in 2023, totalling 145,522 requests and 21,910 subsidiary applications, which is a total of 167,432 requests. This means that asylum requests this year were up by 7.5 per cent compared to 2022.
Among the first requests made in One Stop Shops for Asylum Seekers (GUDA), the requests under the Dublin Regulation increased by 25.4 per cent in 2023.
Afghan nationals continue filing the highest number of asylum requests – 16,948, representing 11.6 per cent of all requests for the year. However, compared to 2022, application rates by this nationality group have dropped by 24.8 per cent.
Similarly, a drop in Bangladeshi requests was noticed – 9.3 per cent fewer than last year, while requests from Sri Lankan nationals have surged by 79.1 per cent.
During the year 2023, demand from Russian nationals increased considerably, around 62 per cent, but demand for asylum requests from African countries has been up by 71.1 per cent.
Strong increases in asylum requests from the Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan were noticed.
Stateless Persons Requests Up by 8.6%
In 2023, the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA) registered 142,496 asylum requests, reflecting an increase of 8.6 per cent compared to 2022. Additionally, the office granted 136,751 decisions, surpassing the previous year’s count by 1.7 per cent. Regardless, the number of decisions made remained substantially higher than in 2019, showing a significant increase of 13.4 per cent.
Agreement decisions were up by 14.4 per cent, reaching 44,479, with 38,885 in 2022. This figure markedly surpassed the 2019 with an increase of 38.4 per cent. The heightened activity in asylum agreements, when compared to overall decisions, resulted in an increased OFPRA agreement rate, nearing one in three favourable decisions in 2023.
Ukrainians Were 11th Largest Applicant Group for Asylum Requests
Since the war in Ukraine started in February 2022, individuals from Ukraine seeking temporary refuge in France can obtain a Temporary Residence Authorization (APS) as beneficiaries of temporary protection. This authorisation is initially valid for six months and can be renewed.
Residence permits granted to Ukrainians are considered provisional documents, except for those who apply for international protection, subject to the regular asylum process. As of the end of 2023, there were 62,438 valid ‘temporary protection’ permits were held by Ukrainian nationals, reaching a peak of 67,252 at the end of February.
Relatively few Ukrainians have sought asylum in France. In 2023, one-stop shops for asylum seekers recorded 3,405 applications from Ukrainians, ranking Ukrainians as the 11th most represented nationality. Moreover, 2,348 Ukrainian nationals were granted international protection in France, a significant increase from the 702 granted protection in 2022.
