Italy has rejected 2,220 Nigerians seeking asylum
At least 3,385 Nigerians applied for asylum in Italy in 2025 but 2,220 applicants were rejected in first-instance decisions.
This is however, according to figures contained in the Asylum Information Database 2025 Country Report on Italy, a project of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles and compiled using data from Italy’s Asylum Service and the European Union Agency for Asylum.
The report was produced by the Association for Legal Studies on Immigration.
The volume of applications made Nigeria the only sub-Saharan African country among the country’s top 10 nationalities of asylum seekers, according to the data obtained by The PUNCH.
It showed that 660 of the Nigerians who went through the process were granted full refugee status, recording a 19.47 per cent refugee recognition rate, the highest of all top 10 nationalities and nearly three and a half times Italy’s national average of 5.7 per cent.
Of the 3,390 decisions rendered on Nigerian cases in 2025, 660 or 19.47 per cent resulted in full refugee status, Italy’s highest form of protection awarded to persons who face persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership of a particular social group under the 1951 Geneva Convention.
A further 55 Nigerians, or 1.62 per cent, received subsidiary protection, which covers those facing serious harm who do not qualify as Convention refugees, while 460 or 13.57 per cent were granted Italy’s national or special protection category, known as protezione speciale.
According to the data, 1,175 Nigerians received some form of protection in 2025, translating to an overall protection rate of 34.66 per cent, above Italy’s national rate of 30 per cent.
As of December 31, 2025, a further 4,120 Nigerian cases remained pending before Italian authorities, the report said.
Among asylum seekers of African descent, Egypt led with 11,790 applications.
The AIDA statistics table showed that of the 10,685 decisions on Egyptian cases, 8,900, or 83.30 per cent, were rejections, with only 105 Egyptians granted full refugee status, 20 subsidiary protection, and 1,660 national protection.
Morocco followed with 9,485 applications, registering the second-highest rejection rate among all top 10 nationalities.
The table showed that 5,695 of 6,315 decisions, or 90.18 per cent, were turned down, as only 95 Moroccans received refugee status and five received subsidiary protection.
Tunisians filed 6,290 applications, and of the 5,895 decisions, 5,035 or 85.41 per cent were rejected. Only 190 Tunisians were granted refugee status, 25 subsidiary protection, and 645 national protection.
The report also recorded other African nationalities among unaccompanied minors who sought asylum in Italy in 2025. These include Gambia (61 unaccompanied children), Mali (44), Guinea (42), Burkina Faso (34), Somalia (30), Ivory Coast (27), Senegal (9), and Nigeria (16).
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Nigerians and asylum seeking