Prague, May 1 (CTK) – Czech asylum was sought by 415 people in from January to the end of March, compared with 439 foreigners in the first quarter of last year, according to the data of the Interior Ministry’s section of asylum and migration policy.
The highest numbers of asylum applications were filed by foreigners from Ukraine (125), Iraq (107) and China (40). More than ten applications were filed by people from Afghanistan, Cuba, Syria and Vietnam.
Ukrainians have been the largest group of asylum applicants in the long term, but their number markedly fell this year. From January to March 2015, 208 Ukrainians applied for asylum.
Iraqis applied for Czech asylum only seldom before. The number of their asylum applicationsincreased because of a resettlement programme, within which 153 Iraqi Christians were to move to the Czech Republic this year. However, the government halted the programme prematurely after a part of the Iraqis left for Germany, which was against law.
In the first three months of the year, 91 people were granted asylum and 80 were granted protection for a limited period of time. This protection is given mostly to foreigners who are not granted asylum, but who would be in danger if they returned to their homeland now.
From January to March, asylum was not granted or the procedure was halted in 228 cases.
At the end of March, 681 foreigners were waiting for their asylum applications to be decided.
In 2015, 1525 foreigners applied for asylum in the country and in 2014 it was 1156. From 2010 to 2013, the number of applicants was fewer than 1000 a year, but in the 2000s the figures were markedly higher. In 2001, the number of asylum applicants was extremely high – over 18,000.
