Timeline of the 2015 European migrant crisis

This is a timeline of the European migrant crisis of 2015 and 2016.

Against the backdrop of four years of Syrian civil war and political instability in other Middle Eastern countries, there was a record number of 1.3 million people who lodged asylum applications to the European Union's 28 member nations, Norway and Switzerland in 2015, compared to 600,000 applications filed in 2014.: 8 : 4 

In 2015, the European destinations for most of the migrants were Germany, Sweden and Austria.: 4  Syria was the country of origin of most displaced persons that year, but many economic refugees also fled Kosovo as their country faced financial hardship in the aftermath of the 1998-1999 Kosovo war. Whereas migrants from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq were considered to be genuine refugees with 85% of their applications granted, the latter's were almost always rejected, resulting in fewer asylum applications from the Balkans, including Kosovo, Albania, and Serbia in 2016 onwards.: 4 

The surge in numbers in 2015 was accompanied by a significant change in irregular migratory movements as large numbers of migrants, displaced persons, and asylum seekers attempted to enter Europe by both land and sea, bypassing regular migration.: 2  Previously most irregular migration consisted of migrants from the African continent crossing the Mediterranean to Italy and onward to other European countries.: 2 

In 2016, the number was only slightly less—with 1.2 million asylum applications filed. From Syria alone, millions of people were dislocated in the "humanitarian catastrophe" that affected many Middle Eastern and European nations and beyond.: 4 

In 2017, the number of applications decreased dramatically to a total of 706,913 to these destination countries, 40% of which were granted. In 2017, Germany, Italy, and Greece received the most first-time asylum applications. Deutsche Welle (DW) said that some of the likely causes of this decrease included the November 2015 deal made between Turkey and the EU to stem the flow of Syrian refugees into Europe, the closure of the easiest and safest route—the Balkan inland route, as well as intensified efforts by Italy to stop migrants attempting to make the shorter sea crossing from northern Africa to Italy.

In 2022, the number of first-time applicants rose to approximately 996,000—the highest since the Syrian war-related 2015 and 2016 peak numbers. As of August 2023 Syrians continued to attempt to escape their home country through the Eastern Mediterranean route, through Libya and then by boat to Europe. According to the Agence France-Presse (AFP) service, the repression of peaceful pro-democracy protests in 2013 in Syria resulted in the ongoing conflict, millions of displaced persons, and hundred of thousands of deaths by 2022.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported in March 2023 that the world's largest refugee crisis continues to be Syria.

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