Romania has registered a record number of asylum requests last year. According to data from the General Inspectorate for Immigration quoted by Digi24, a total of 6,138 asylum applications were made in 2020, which represented an increase of 137% compared to 2019. 

“6,138 requests for granting international protection were made during the reference period, rising by 137% over the same period of 2019 and, at the same time, exceeding the largest number of applications for international protection addressed to the Romanian state - 4,820 asylum applications submitted in 2017,” the General Inspectorate for Immigration said. 

Most applications were registered at the regional centers in Timisoara, Bucharest, and Maramures, and most asylum seekers were from Afghanistan (2,384), Syria (1,459), and Iraq (416).

At the same time, in 2020, more than 1,000 people have signed up for the integration program, 23% more than in 2019. Most of them were from Syria, Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Juan Moyano/Dreamstime.com)