Over the past three months, more people have again applied for asylum in the Netherlands. Statistics Netherlands reports this on the basis of data from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND). In July, August and September, more than ten thousand people applied to stay in the Netherlands for the first time.
According to CBS, 10,600 people applied for asylum for the first time in the third quarter. This is 3,555 more than in previous months. In 2021, nearly 9,000 people applied for asylum in the same months.
Most of the people who have applied for asylum come from Syria. That number doubled in the third quarter compared to the second quarter. Even more people from Afghanistan came to the Netherlands.
Also, more people came to the Netherlands because a family member was told they could stay. The IND reports 3,605 of these family members, 465 more than in the second quarter. Most of these people were from Syria.
Due to the corona pandemic, fewer asylum applications were made in 2020 and 2021, CBS says. Since travel restrictions were lifted, the number of people seeking asylum in the Netherlands has also increased again.
Fewer asylum requests from Ukrainians and Russians
Asylum applications were also received from people from Ukraine. They received a special status due to the invasion of Russia, which means that for the moment it is not necessary. However, five Ukrainians went to the IND in the last quarter. This is less than the quarter before, when fifteen Ukrainians applied. In total there are around 95,000 Ukrainians registered in the Netherlands.
The IND also received eighty requests from people of Russian nationality. They don’t have such a protected status. That number also decreased in the third quarter. In the first and second quarters, another 120 and 170 Russians reported to the government organization.
