The influx of asylum seekers remains high after New Year

The Netherlands processed approximately a thousand asylum applications in the first week of the New Year. For that week, this is the highest number in recent years. The inflow was also significantly higher in the last three months of 2023 than in previous years.

The first week of 2023 saw around 700 people apply for asylum in the Netherlands; it was 600 in 2022 and 400 in 2021. These are rounded figures so that the actual numbers may differ slightly. The influx of asylum does not only concern new applications but also, for example, following travelers. These people can come to the Netherlands to join a family member who has been granted asylum.

For the fourteenth week in a row, the influx is higher than in the same week a year earlier, according to the weekly figures from the Ministry of Justice and Security. More than 17,000 asylum seekers came to the Netherlands in those fourteen weeks, compared to approximately 13,000 in the same weeks a year earlier.