New asylum applications up 29% in first quarter; 63% more family reunification requests

Almost 9,000 people submitted their first asylum application in the Netherlands in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 29 percent compared to the same quarter a year earlier. The number of family reunification requests was 62 percent higher at 3,100, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported on Wednesday based on the latest figures from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND).

Compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, the number of first asylum applications decreased by 31 percent in the first quarter, and family reunification requests increased by 3 percent.

Syrians still make up the largest group of new asylum seekers. Almost a third (2,900) came from Syria, 86 percent more than in the same period last year. The number of people fleeing from Iraq increased significantly. In the first quarter, 1,200 Iraqis submitted their first asylum application in the Netherlands, 543 percent more than a year earlier. After Syria and Iraq, the most first asylum requests came from Turkey (495) and Yemen (470).

Three-quarters of the first asylum seekers were men and most were under the age of 35. A quarter were children. Family reunification applications came mostly from women (60 percent). Over half of these requests were for children.

By far the most family reunification requests came from Syria, 2,300 of the total 3,100. There were also many requests from Yemen (225), Turkey (145), and Iraq (85 percent). Compared to the first quarter of 2023, the number of family reunification requests increased most from family members coming from Yemen (+181 percent) and Syria (+111 percent).