Eurostat's October 23 release reports that first-time applications were 39% lower than in July 2025 and 8% lower than in June 2026. Afghanistan was the largest citizenship group with 3,100 first-time applicants, followed by Sudan with 2,605, Bangladesh with 2,255, and Syria with 1,420.
France recorded 9,000 first-time applications, Italy 5,140, Greece 3,715, Spain 3,590, and Germany 3,075. Eurostat also recorded 1,290 first-time applications from unaccompanied minors, while noting missing, estimated, or provisional data for several countries.
From July 2026, the collection method changed from applications lodged to applications registered under the EU migration pact. Italy and Slovenia have breaks in their time series, and several national figures are provisional or estimated, so the headline declines should not be treated as perfectly like-for-like comparisons.