(1/13) A new @pewresearch analysis based on European data sources estimates Europe’s unauthorized immigrant population increased 2014 to 2016, before leveling off.
(2/13) We define unauthorized immigrant groups as non-EU-EFTA citizens living in their country of residence without a residency permit. More below.
(3/13) Overall, unauthorized immigrants accounted for less than 1% of Europe’s total population of more than 500 million people living in EU and EFTA countries.
(4/13) The recent rise in Europe’s long-standing unauthorized immigrant population is largely due to a surge of asylum seekers who mostly arrived in 2015, when more than 1.3 million people applied for asylum in EU-EFTA countries.
(5/13) Many asylum seekers have been approved to remain in Europe. Many others have had their applications rejected. Some have appealed those denials. Still others whose applications were rejected or withdrawn continue to live in Europe.
(6/13) Since asylum seekers waiting for a decision have a temporary lawful status, the Center also produced estimates of the unauthorized immigrant population without this group.
(7/13) Unauthorized immigrants made up roughly one-fifth of Europe’s total non-EU-EFTA population in 2017.
(8/13) More than two-thirds of Europe’s unauthorized immigrants in 2017 lived in Germany, the UK, Italy and France
(9/13) In Germany, the number of unauthorized immigrants, including waiting asylum seekers, roughly doubled between 2014 & 2016, before appearing to decline slightly in 2017. The number without asylum seekers is lower, but the trend is the same.
(10/13) The UK estimates show little change between 2014 & 2017 in the number of unauthorized immigrants, with or without waiting asylum seekers. With such a wide range, however, it is possible a change happened during this period.
(11/13) In Italy, the estimated number of unauthorized immigrants increased between 2014 & 2017. If asylum seekers waiting for a decision are excluded, there was only an apparent, marginal increase in the number of unauthorized immigrants.
(12/13) In France, a similar rise in estimates occurred into 2016, but the total did not decline through 2017. The estimates without waiting asylum seekers, however, seemed to decrease between 2016 and 2017.
(13/13) The combined number of unauthorized immigrants in countries besides DE, UK, FR & IT also increased between 2014 & 2016, before leveling off. Without waiting asylum seekers, the number also peaked in 2016 before leveling off.