Last year, more than 35,000 people applied for asylum in the Netherlands for the first time. That is the largest number since 2015, Statistics Netherlands reports. Especially in the second half of 2022, the number of asylum applications rose sharply.
Based on figures from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND), Statistics Netherlands reports that 35,535 people applied for asylum last year. That is almost 44 percent more than in 2021, then nearly 25,000 people submitted a first asylum application.
The more than 35,000 applications are also the largest since the refugee crisis in 2015. In that year, almost 43,000 people applied for asylum. Even then, the asylum reception was overcrowded and asylum seekers had to be accommodated in (crisis) emergency shelters.
Of those more than 35,000 applications, 21,760 were received in the second half of the year. The peak was in September, when the IND received 4,435 applications. After that, the number of asylum applications decreased again.
Most people who applied for asylum in the Netherlands last year had fled from Syria. Many people also fled from Afghanistan and Turkey. This distribution is similar to previous years.
More family members, Ukrainians and Russians
The IND also received slightly more requests from people who wanted to be reunited with their families. These so-called family members may come to the Netherlands if their family member has been granted asylum. In 2022, almost 11,000 of these family members came to the Netherlands, almost 800 more than before. Statistics Netherlands explains the increase largely due to an increase in people with a Syrian and Turkish nationality.
In the year that Russia invaded Ukraine, the number of asylum applications from people who fled Russia or Ukraine also increased. In principle, Ukrainians do not have to go through an asylum procedure because they have a special status. The IND nevertheless received 1,060 requests from Ukrainians who fell outside the scheme. A year earlier, seventy Ukrainians approached the IND.
A total of 590 Russians reported to the IND for an asylum procedure. That is almost three times as much as in 2021.
The IND and the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) expect that more people will again apply for asylum in the Netherlands in 2023. Not only does this put more pressure on the IND, but more reception places have to be arranged, even though there are none at the moment.
