Italy rejected 2,220 asylum claims involving Nigerian applicants in 2025, while another 4,120 Nigerian cases were still pending at the end of the year, according to data in the 2025 Italy Country Report of the Asylum Information Database (AIDA).
The figures show that Nigeria remained a significant nationality in Italy’s asylum system, even as the overall number of asylum applications in the country declined from the previous year.
According to AIDA statistics, 3,385 Nigerians applied for asylum in Italy in 2025, making Nigeria the only sub-Saharan African country among Italy’s 10 largest nationalities of asylum seekers. The report was prepared by the Association for Legal Studies on Immigration (ASGI), using data from Italian asylum authorities and the European Union asylum statistics system.
Of the 3,390 decisions taken on Nigerian cases during the year, 2,220 resulted in rejection. However, the data also show that a substantial number of Nigerian applicants received some form of international or national protection.
A total of 660 Nigerians were granted full refugee status, representing a refugee recognition rate of 19.47 per cent. Another 55 applicants received subsidiary protection, while 460 were granted Italy's special protection status.
Combined, the three categories accounted for 1,175 Nigerian applicants, giving Nigeria an overall protection rate of 34.66 per cent at first instance. That was above Italy's overall protection rate of 30 per cent in 2025.
Thousands of Nigerian Cases Still Await Decisions
The number of pending Nigerian applications remained substantial.
AIDA recorded 4,120 Nigerian asylum cases pending at the end of 2025, meaning the cases had not received a first-instance decision by December 31.
The pending figure should not be interpreted as the number of people who newly applied during 2025. AIDA notes that the statistics on decisions cover cases decided during the year, regardless of when the applications were originally submitted. Consequently, some of the 3,390 Nigerian cases decided in 2025 could have been filed before 2025.
The distinction is important because asylum systems often carry applications from previous years into subsequent reporting periods.
Italy had 234,165 asylum applications pending across all nationalities at the end of 2025, although AIDA notes that the Eurostat figure for pending applications is flagged as having low reliability.
Nigeria's Protection Rate Was Above Italy's Average
The Nigerian figures were notable not only because of the number of rejected claims but also because of the proportion of applicants who received protection.
Of the 3,390 Nigerian decisions, the outcomes were:
- 2,220 rejected
- 660 granted refugee status
- 55 granted subsidiary protection
- 460 granted special protection
The resulting overall protection rate was 34.66 per cent, compared with 30 per cent across all nationalities.
The 19.47 per cent refugee recognition rate for Nigerians was particularly high compared with Italy's national refugee recognition rate of 5.70 per cent.
However, the figures do not mean that roughly one-third of all Nigerians who applied in 2025 were automatically approved. The protection rate is calculated from decisions issued during the year, while applications and decisions can relate to different years.
AIDA explicitly notes that its decision statistics cover cases decided during the reporting year, whether the application was submitted during that year or earlier.
Italy Received Fewer First-Time Applications
The Nigerian figures came against a broader decline in asylum applications in Italy.
Italy registered 126,635 first-time asylum applications in 2025, compared with 151,120 in 2024. Despite the decline, the 2025 figure remained substantially higher than the 77,200 first-time applications recorded in 2022.
Across all nationalities, Italian authorities issued 104,560 first-instance decisions during 2025.
The overall protection rate, including special protection, stood at 30 per cent, down from 35 per cent in 2024 and significantly below the 47 per cent recorded in 2022.
The national figures consisted of:
- 73,200 rejections
- 5,965 refugee-status decisions
- 11,455 subsidiary-protection decisions
- 13,945 special-protection decisions
The data demonstrate the difference between the number of applications received and the number of decisions reached in a particular year. Because decisions may relate to applications filed in earlier periods, the figures should not be read as a direct approval or rejection rate for everyone who submitted an application in 2025.
Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia Had More Applications
Nigeria was not the largest African nationality in Italy's asylum statistics.
Egypt recorded the largest number of applications among African countries listed in the AIDA table, with 11,790 applications in 2025.
Egypt was followed by:
- Morocco — 9,485 applications
- Tunisia — 6,290 applications
- Nigeria — 3,385 applications
The three North African nationalities also recorded considerably higher rejection rates than Nigeria.
Egypt had 8,900 rejections from 10,685 decisions, equivalent to an overall rejection rate of 83.30 per cent.
Morocco recorded 5,695 rejections from 6,315 decisions, producing a rejection rate of 90.18 per cent.
Tunisia had 5,035 rejections from 5,895 decisions, or 85.41 per cent.
By comparison, Nigeria's rejection rate was 64.90 per cent, while its overall protection rate was 34.66 per cent.
Nigerian Children Also Sought Protection
The report recorded Nigerian children among unaccompanied minors who sought asylum in Italy during 2025.
There were 16 unaccompanied Nigerian children recorded among asylum applicants.
The wider data showed 985 unaccompanied children among all asylum applicants in Italy in 2025, alongside 4,215 accompanied children. Adults accounted for the overwhelming majority of applicants.
Other African nationalities represented among unaccompanied minors included Gambia, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Somalia, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal.
The presence of Nigerian minors adds another dimension to the country's migration and asylum profile, particularly because unaccompanied children are subject to specific safeguards within European and Italian protection systems.
What Rejection Means for Nigerian Applicants
A rejected asylum application does not simply mean that a person has been immediately deported.
An asylum rejection is a decision by the relevant authorities that the applicant has not met the legal requirements for the protection being sought at that stage. Depending on the circumstances and applicable Italian procedures, applicants can have avenues to challenge or appeal decisions.
The AIDA data therefore should not be interpreted as evidence that the 2,220 Nigerians rejected in 2025 were all subsequently removed from Italy.
Similarly, the 4,120 pending cases do not represent people who have been approved or rejected. They were cases awaiting decisions at the end of the reporting period.
Nigeria's Position in Italy's Asylum System
Nigeria's inclusion among Italy's 10 largest asylum-seeker nationalities is significant because it places the country alongside much larger applicant groups from countries such as Bangladesh, Peru, Egypt and Pakistan.
The 2025 AIDA data listed Nigeria as the 10th-largest nationality by number of applicants among the nationalities shown in the country's top-10 table, with 3,385 applications.
At the same time, Nigeria recorded a markedly different outcome profile from several of the other major nationalities.
Its 19.47 per cent refugee recognition rate was substantially above Italy's national figure of 5.70 per cent. Nigeria also had a 1.62 per cent subsidiary-protection rate and a 13.57 per cent special-protection rate.
These figures reflect decisions made under different legal categories. Refugee status is distinct from subsidiary protection, while special protection is a form of protection available under Italian national law. They should therefore not be treated as interchangeable immigration statuses.
A Large Backlog Remains
The 4,120 Nigerian cases pending at the end of 2025 point to a broader challenge facing Italy's asylum system: the gap between applications received and cases decided.
Although applications declined in 2025, the country still registered more than 126,000 first-time asylum requests and issued just over 104,000 first-instance decisions. This contributed to a substantial number of cases remaining in the system.
For Nigerians awaiting decisions, the backlog means that an application lodged in one year may not necessarily receive a decision during the same year.
The AIDA figures consequently provide a snapshot of Italy's asylum system rather than a direct measure of the fate of every Nigerian who submitted an application during 2025.
The data nevertheless underline Nigeria's continued importance within Italy's asylum system. While 2,220 Nigerian cases were rejected, 1,175 applicants received some form of protection, and 4,120 cases remained pending at the end of the year.
For prospective and current applicants, the figures also highlight the importance of distinguishing between an application, a decision, refugee status, subsidiary protection and Italy's special protection category. Individual asylum decisions remain dependent on the circumstances and evidence presented in each case.
