TIRANA, April 28 – Albanian citizens were ranked third among the main citizenships granted protection status in Ireland during 2019. According to Eurostat’s latest data, 110 Albanian asylum seekers were granted protection status in Ireland last year, or 10 percent of the total, following citizens of Zimbabwe and Pakistan.
In 2019, only 1470 asylum applications received a positive decision, or 7.2 percent of the total. The highest number of positive decisions came from France, accounting for 55 percent of the total, followed by the U.K. with 395 and Italy with 125 positive responses. Based on the recognition rate, Switzerland tops the list as it granted protective status to 40 percent of applicants, followed by Britain with 23.5 percent, Austria with 18.2 percent and Ireland with 13 percent.
However, the number of asylum applications lodged by Albanians in the Republic of Ireland dropped significantly during October of 2019, after serious measures were taken by the Irish Government to tighten up immigration and airline control. During an interview with the Irish Times, the Minister for Justice, Charlie Flanagan, said that most Albanian citizens who sought international protection carried fake documents with them in order to get to Dublin, destroying them before reaching passport control.
In 2019, 540 800 first instance decisions on asylum applications were made in the EU Member States and a further 293 200 final decisions following an appeal. Decisions made at the first instance resulted in 206 000 persons being granted protection status, while a further 89 800 received protection status on appeal.
The recognition rate, i.e. the share of positive decisions among the total number of decisions, was 38 percent for first instance decisions in the EU. For final decisions on appeal, the recognition rate was 31 percent. The outcomes of decisions on asylum applications, and therefore the recognition rate, vary between countries of citizenship of asylum applicants. Among the twenty main citizenships of asylum applicants on which decisions were taken at first instance in 2019, recognition rates in the EU ranged from 4 percent for citizens of Georgia and 6 percent of Albania to 96 percent for Venezuelans, 85 percent for Syrians and 81 percent for Eritreans.
