ISLAMABAD – A noticeable decline in the number of asylum applications submitted by Pakistanis in European Union countries since 2023 has been recorded, said a report
In October 2023, around 3,400 applications were filed monthly, but this figure dropped to around 1,900 by October 2024.
The year 2023 witnessed the highest number of asylum applications from Pakistanis, with a total of 30,440 requests submitted across EU nations.
The trend of increasing asylum applications by Pakistanis began in 2020, reaching a peak with 25,000 applications submitted by April 2022 alone.
Between October 2023 and October 2024, about 28,000 Pakistanis filed asylum requests in European countries.
Among EU countries, Italy received the largest number of applications from Pakistani nationals, followed by France, Greece, and Germany.
This shift indicates changing migration patterns and asylum-seeking behavior among Pakistanis in Europe.
Meanwhile, more than one million Pakistani citizens left the country for jobs in foreign countries during the fiscal year 2024-25, according to the Economic Survey.
The report highlighted labor migration trends across the provinces and regions, with Punjab leading the chart by a significant margin.
A total of 404,345 individuals from Punjab went abroad for employment followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 187,000 workers, while Sindh sent 60,424 citizens abroad for jobs.
