In May 2022, 63 105 first-time asylum applicants (non-EU citizens) applied for international protection in the EU Member States, up 89% compared with May 2021 (33 385) and up 17% compared with April 2022 (54 145).
In Cyprus, in May 2022 there were 2,560 new requests for asylum, compared with April 2022, when 2,030 new applications had been recorded and May 2022 when 1,175 applications had been recorded.
The largest number of new applications in Cyprus in May were from citizens of Nigeria (460), Syria (420), People’s Republic of Congo (390), Pakistan (265), and Afghanistan (240)
According to Eurostat, the increase from April to May 2022 can be attributed in part to increases in Venezuelan (from 3 655 in April to 4 820 in May; +32%) and Syrian first-time applicants (from 6 485 to 8 025; +24%).
