Asylum applications, publication of 20 January 2022

After the significant impact of the COVID-19 health crisis in 2020 on the movement of foreigners and the activity of the administrations responsible for the registration and examination of their applications, the number of applications and decisions taken there was a resumption in 2021. There are 104 577 first applications and 16,977 requests for re-examination made in GUDA. 12 931 requests should be added, in particular following the reclassification of procedures initially identified as belonging to other EU Member States under the Dublin Regulation but which did not give rise to a transfer, or as part of the refugee resettlement programme conducted in conjunction with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

103,011 asylum applications were registered at OFPRA (see box), an increase of 6.8 % compared to 2020. In addition, the Agency made 139 513 decisions. As a result of the human reinforcements allocated to the Office, this sharp increase in decisions taken (+ 55.4 %), which exceeds the number of applications
registered, allowed for significant destocking of files filed in previous years.

The number of decisions to agree recorded a more marked increase (+ 70.8 %), the OFPRA having taken 35 636, compared to 20 866 in 2020. The National Asylum Court (CNDA) also dealt with appeals prior to 2021 and issued 68,403 decisions, i.e. + 62.8 % compared to 2020, of which 15 112 annulments (protection agreements in second instance). In addition, there are 3,346 protections granted by OFPRA to minors following cancellations concerning accompanying adults granted by the CNDA (see box). In total, in 2021, the number of decisions of protection status taken by OFPRA and CNDA stood at 54,094, an increase of 62.9 % compared to 2020. In the end, the synthetic protection rate (see box) is 39.0 %, almost stable (+ 0.1 points).