Netherlands rejected 56% more asylum applications in 2025

Last year, the Dutch immigration authorities rejected 56 percent more asylum applications than the year before. Unlike in previous years, more asylum applications were rejected than granted, according to figures Statistics Netherlands (CBS) released for EU statistics.

Last year, the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) made decisions on 15,600 first applications for asylum, 27 percent less than in 2024. It rejected 8,100 applications and granted 7,400.

In 2025, the IND granted 2,900 people asylum based on subsidiary protection - a form of protection for people who do not qualify for refugee status, but face serious risks upon return to their country. That is a 70 percent decrease compared to 2024.

3,400 people fleeing war and displacement were granted refugee status, 35 percent fewer than in 2024. And just over a thousand people were granted asylum based on humanitarian protection - protection offered to people in dire personal circumstances resulting in them being unable to return to their home country. That is an increase of 35 percent compared to 2024.

According to CBS, the 35 percent decrease in refugee statuses granted last year is largely due to fewer Syrians fleeing to the Netherlands. “In 2025, the number of Syrian asylum applications and asylum decisions fell sharply. A major cause was the change of power in Syria at the end of 2024.”

Last year, the IND processed 390 asylum applications from Syrian asylum seekers, granting 28 percent of them. In 2024, it processed 10,700 applications for Syrian asylum seekers, granting 95 percent of them. Last year, 30 Syrians received refugee status, compared to 2,900 in 2024. And 25 Syrians received a residency permit based on subsidiary protection, compared to 7,200 in 2024.

The IND processed 15,200 asylum applications from asylum seekers from outside Syria. It rejected 7,850 of these applications, 67 percent more than the previous year.