The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) is diligently looking for thousands of additional reception places, write outgoing minister Ollongren and state secretary Broekers-Knol to the House of Representatives. 3,500 places are needed before the end of the year, of which 600 before December 1.
In addition to the regular reception, ten locations for fifty unaccompanied minors and one hundred sober reception places for asylum seekers from safe countries are being sought.
The pressure on asylum reception centers has been high for months. Since the end of August, more than 6,500 extra reception places have been added, but these are often temporary. The locations can then only be used for a few weeks or months.
Casino not safe
COA has the greatest difficulty in finding new locations. Today there was also a setback in Utrecht: a former casino turned out not to be safe enough to house 500 asylum seekers. The security region therefore did not issue a permit. “Missing 500 shelters is a major loss in the emergency,” the COA said.
The Dutch asylum reception is overcrowded due to the high influx from Syria and Afghanistan, among others. In the night shelter in Ter Apel, the need was so high last month that people had to sit on chairs or on the floor to sleep. Also this week, according to the municipality, there were dozens of asylum seekers too many every night.
Too few houses
In addition, the outflow of status holders is difficult, partly due to the tightness in the housing market. There are now about 11,000 people with a residence permit in the COA reception centres. More than half of them wait longer than the agreed fourteen weeks for housing.
In their letter, Broekers-Knol and Ollongren also come up with other solutions for the shortage of shelter places. Asylum seekers could, for example, stay temporarily with family or in a care institution. There is also a lodging arrangement, which means that they can stay with host families for a few months.
NOS op 3 found out why the asylum center is so full in the Netherlands:
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