Italy rejects 2,220 Nigerian asylum seekers as 4,120 applications remain pending

Italy rejected 2,220 asylum applications from Nigerians in 2025, while another 4,120 cases remained unresolved at the end of the year.

The figures were contained in the 2025 Italy Country Report of the Asylum Information Database (AIDA), which recorded 3,385 asylum applications from Nigerians during the year.

According to the report, 3,390 decisions were made on Nigerian cases, with 660 applicants granted refugee status, 55 receiving subsidiary protection and 460 obtaining special protection under Italian law.

In total, 1,175 Nigerians received some form of protection, representing an approval rate of 34.66 per cent, above Italy's national average of 30 per cent.

Nigeria was also the only sub-Saharan African country among the 10 nationalities with the highest number of asylum applications in Italy.

The report revealed that Italy received 126,635 first-time asylum requests in 2025, down from 151,120 in 2024.

It also recorded 16 unaccompanied Nigerian children among minors who applied for asylum during the year.