Spain is now the number one destination for migrants after overtaking Germany, new analysis hs revealed. The country recorded almost 12,800 asylum applications in May, the latest period available, down from 16,300 last year.
Germany has been the most popular destination for migrants for a decade, buoyed in part by Angela Merkel’s decision not to close the border to Syrian refugees fleeing civil war in 2015. In May, overall asylum claims dropped to 9,900 from 18,700 filed the same month last year. Syrian applications across the EU have dropped following the ousting of the country’s dictator Bashar Al Assad in December 2024. The drop is thought to be one of the primary factors in Spain taking top spot according to a report by the EU Agency for Asylum seen by the Financial Times.
So abrupt is the drop in Syrian applications that they went from from roughly 16,000 in October last year to just 3,100 in May.
The agency said: “Since February Germany has no longer been the top EU+ destination; Spain, Italy and France all received more applications in May 2025.”
Spain has risen to become the primary destination for asylum seekers in the EU, despite an overall drop in applications in 2025.
The country has seen an influx of migrants from Venezuela keen to settle in a country with a shared language.
The EU agency also believes that a firmer stance on immigration by the United States since President Donald Trump’s return to power in January has contributed to more Venezuelans heading to Spain.
The country is experiencing significant numbers of arrivals in places such as the Canary Islands, with a record 60,000 people arriving in Spain in 2024, with the majority coming from West Africa mostly by small boat.
Italy is now the second most popular country for asylum applications with 12,300 asylum claims in May, down by a third from the previous year.
France is in third with 11,900 claims, slightly below last year’s 12,500, driven largely by conflict in French speaking countries such as Congo and Haiti.
Overall, the EU saw 64,000 asylum applications in May, down by a quarter from the same year in 2024.
New German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to take a stronger approach to migration after the issue dominated the country’s election earlier this year.
The election saw far-right party Alternative for Deutschland earn a record number of votes and place second after running on an anti-immigration agenda and garnering vast amounts of support in some parts of the country.
The government has issued new directives to border staff, telling them to turn those without papers away from the country.