Number of asylum seekers in France continues to rise, now counts over half a million

France granted asylum to some 56,000 people in 2022, bringing the total to over half a million – a symbolic number as the government would like to reform the country’s immigration laws and shorten the amount of time it takes to rule an asylum claim.

Ukrainians arrive at a welcome center for refugees in Paris in March 2022. France has welcomed 100,000 Ukranians since the start of Russia's invasion in February 2022, but they are not part of official asylum figures, because they are part of a European temporary protection programme. © Thomas Coex/AFP

In its annual report, Ofpra, the French asylum office, reported Monday that 56,276 people received protection from France as asylum seekers in 2022, bringing the total number of officially-recognised asylum seekers to 547,102.

Some 131,000 people applied for asylum in 2022, which is about the level of requests that existed before the Covid pandemic, according to Ofpra Director General Julien Boucher.

Le rapport d’activité 2022 est en ligne !https://t.co/TyLVmizID2 pic.twitter.com/iQtPeHOnG5

— Ofpra (@Ofpra) July 3, 2023

Afghans fleeing the Taliban

At the top of the list of countries of origin is Afghanistan, with 17,103 first requests. Asylum applications went up 37 percent between 2021 and 2022 after the Taliban took power in the summer of 2021.

The next highest number of claims came from Turks, Georgians and the Democratic Republic of Congo – countries where political regimes, security situations or ethnic or economic difficulties have pushed people to flee.

The 100,000 or so Ukrainians who have taken refuge in France since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022 are not counted in these statistics, as they are welcomed in under a special European temporary protection programme.

However, the war and Russia’s crackdown on dissent has meant a 75 percent increase in asylum requests from Russia, according to Ofpra, with 2,617 applications in 2022 from people claiming fear of persecution for voicing their opposition to the war, or refusing to be drafted into the army. 

• EU divided on welcoming Russians fleeing military draft

Faster decisions

Just under 30 percent of asylum requests are granted, a slight increase from 2021, according to Opfra, and the amount of time between a claim and a ruling was cut in half, from 261 days in 2021 to 159 days (five months) in 2022, “the lowest ever observed in 15 years”, according Ofpra General Manager Jean-François Monteils.

Reducing the amount of time it takes to rule on an asylum claim in order to more quickly deport those who are refused is a key part of the government’s immigration reform bill that it would like to submit to parliament.

Ofpra, which is marking its 70^th anniversary this year, points out, however, that while it has accelerated its rulings, it has fallen behind in processing papers for those who are granted asylum, which means people are left in limbo – a situation that the office says needs support, with the ever increasing number of claims.

(with newswires)