Netherlands also struggling to shelter Ukrainian refugees

The Netherlands isn’t only struggling to find shelter space for asylum seekers. The municipal shelters for Ukrainian refugees are also at capacity. Over 99 percent of the 90,000 reception places for Ukrainians are occupied, the Telegraaf reports.

In the first weeks of this year, over 3,000 Ukrainians reported to the registration center in Utrecht. Typically, they first stay in the registration center in the Jaarbeurs and then move on to a municipal shelter. It has been arranged this way since Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago. In principle, all Ukrainians are entitled to a place in municipal shelters.

But the available shelter places in the Dutch municipalities are reaching capacity, Jaap Donker of the Veiligheidsregio Utrecht told the newspaper. The shelter at the registration center, which has 140 beds, has been packed every day since the beginning of February. More people arrive daily, and there is no place to send them.

“There is a very realistic chance that we will have to temporarily close the gates sometime in the coming weeks. Of course, we absolutely do not want it, but we have no other choice because mental and physical living conditions such as hygiene can no longer be guaranteed," Donker told the newspaper. It would mean refugees ending up on the street, he said.

In a recent letter to parliament, responsible State Secretary Eric van der Burg (Asylum) said that he would do more to stimulate “the self-reliance and participation” of Ukrainian refugees in the Netherlands, to hopefully free up some space in the municipal shelters. One option he mentioned was requiring Ukrainians to “contribute to their shelter if they have enough income to do so.”

The Netherlands is also struggling to find enough shelter space for other asylum seekers. The registration center in Ter Apel is chronically overcrowded. Van der Burg considers it unlikely that the government can adhere to the court ruling to accommodate no more than the agreed-upon 2,000 people in the Ter Apel center from Tuesday.