Luxembourg Receives 200+ Asylum, 1.2k Temporary Protection Applications in May

The Directorate of Immigration of Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has published figures regarding applications for international protection (asylum) and temporary protection in the Grand Duchy for the month of May 2022.

International protection

A total of 206 people applied for international protection in Luxembourg in May 2022, up from 149 in April 2022 and 89 in May 2021.

93 decisions on asylum applications were taken in May 2022, down from 203 the previous month, with 40 applicants (down from 102 in April) being granted refugee status in Luxembourg.

The largest number of applicants seeking asylum in Luxembourg in May 2022 once again came from Syria (82), followed by Eritrea (31) and Afghanistan (21).

By the end of May, Luxembourg had received a total of 810 applications for international protection so far in 2022 – more than double the 392 applications received this time last year.

Temporary protection

A total of 633 people contacted the Immigration Directorate to express their interest in applying for temporary protection in Luxembourg in May 2022, whilst 1,173 people actually applied for the status. 

114 people decided (for various reasons) not to apply for temporary protection in the end despite previously having indicated their interest in doing so.

With the introduction of temporary protection at the European level in March 2022 for persons fleeing the war in Ukraine, it is unsurprising that most applicants for this status in May 2022 were once again Ukrainian nationals. Last month, a total of 1,113 Ukrainian nationals applied for temporary protection in Luxembourg.

However, a number of people of other nationalities also applied for temporary protection in Luxembourg in May 2022: eighteen Nigerian nationals, six Cameroonian nationals and 36 nationals of various other countries applied for this status.

Overall, Ukrainian nationals represented 95.9% of applicants (3,731 people) for temporary protection in Luxembourg to date in 2022 (as of 31 May). Other nationalities having applied for the status so far this year include Algerians (22 people, or 0.6%), Nigerians (20 people, or 0.5%), Cameroonians (seventeen people, or 0.4%), Russians (nine people, or 0.2%) and Iraqis (eight people, or 0.2%), among others.

A total of 1,148 decisions on temporary protection applications were taken in May 2022, with 1,124 applicants being granted this status in Luxembourg.