Third fewer asylum applications in first 9 months of the year

In the first nine months of this year, 33 percent fewer asylum applications were filed in the Netherlands than in the same period last year. So far this year, the number of new asylum applications has fallen to 16,600, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported based on new figures from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) for July, August, and September. In the third quarter of 2025, 6,800 people applied for asylum.

The largest group of people who applied for asylum in the third quarter has Eritrean nationality (990). Syrians followed (860), an increase of 45 percent compared to the second quarter. This is the first increase since the fall of the Assad regime at the end of 2024, according to CBS. Following these, the most applications came from people of unknown nationality (490) and Turkish nationality (425).

In the third quarter, 4,600 people came to the Netherlands through family reunification - people joining a close relative who received refugee status and a residency permit in the Netherlands. This number has not been this high since 2017, CBS reported. In the first nine months of the year, 12,100 people came to the Netherlands through family reunification, 40 percent more than a year earlier. Two-thirds came from Syria (3,100).

In the first nine months of the year, over twice as many Eritreans filed a first asylum application in the Netherlands. This involved 2,400 asylum seekers. Another 2,400 Syrians applied for asylum. Last year, there were 8,900.