Asylum requests surged in Italy in 2023 – OECD

Rome: Permanent migration to OECD countries hit a new record in 2023, with Italy seeing a boom in asylum requests, according to the latest International Migration Outlook released on November 14.

Asylum requests in Italy last year increased by 69 percent compared to 2022, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) said in its 2024 edition of the International Migration Outlook published on Thursday, November 14.

The boom recorded last year made Italy the “fourth destination among European countries belonging to the OECD and the seventh among OECD countries,” said the analysis. “With 130,000 new requests, Italy topped its previous record in 2017,” when it recorded 126,000 applications, according to the document.

The OECD report noted that the majority of asylum seekers in Italy in 2023 hailed from Bangladesh (23,000, +59 percent), Egypt (18,000, +106 percent) or Pakistan (16,000, +47 percent).

The sharpest rise since 2022 was in Egyptian asylum seekers (9,300 more), while the sharpest decrease was seen in Georgian ones (200 fewer). Italy accepted 48 percent of the requests decided on in 2023.

In 2022, the OECD reported, Italy welcomed 235,000 new long-term or permanent immigrants, a 15 percent rise on 2021. This figure includes 21 percent of immigrants for reasons of free circulation, 24 percent for work reasons, 52 percent for family reasons, and 2 percent for humanitarian reasons.

A total of 25,000 stay permits were issued in Italy to students with international mobility for higher education and 7,600 to temporary and seasonal migrant workers, excluding intra-European migration.

Romania, Ukraine, and Albania were the three main new entries to Italy in 2022. Among 15 countries of origin, Ukraine saw the sharpest rise with 21,000, while the sharpest drop was seen in Nigerian flows to Italy compared with the previous year.