Russian Interior Ministry data released by TASS on November 1 shows that 49 German citizens applied for temporary asylum in Russia between January and September 2026, the highest number among European Union nationals. The Interior Ministry said the trend has persisted for at least three years, with each of the past three years seeing more German applicants than any other EU country.
Other EU countries with temporary asylum applications include Latvia and Lithuania, which received 36 and 12 requests respectively, followed by Italy and Estonia with seven each, France with six, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic with four each, and Greece with three. The figure of 3,802 foreign nationals who applied for asylum during the first three quarters of 2026 also demonstrates a high overall inflow of asylum seekers to Russia.
Historical data provided by the Interior Ministry that TASS cited underscore the persistence of the trend. In 2025, 93 German citizens filed for asylum; in 2024, the number was 116; and in 2023, 111 German nationals submitted applications, all of which were the highest among EU-originated asylum seekers in Russia.
These statistics indicate that German nationals continue to be the most frequent EU citizens seeking temporary asylum in Russia, a pattern that TASS reports has been maintained for several consecutive years according to Interior Ministry records.
