First-time asylum requests in Netherlands fall 25% to 24,000 in 2025

The number of first-time asylum seekers in the Netherlands fell sharply in 2025, returning to pre-pandemic levels, Trouw reports, citing government data. At the Ter Apel registration center, more than 24,000 people applied for asylum for the first time, a 25 percent decrease from 2024 and nearly 40 percent below the peak of 2023, when over 38,000 individuals made their initial requests.

Figures released by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND), part of the Ministry of Asylum and Migration, also indicate a decline in the overall number of asylum requests, including applications for family reunification. Final totals for these categories are not yet available.

Developments in Syria, historically the largest source of asylum seekers in the Netherlands, are reportedly largely responsible for the drop. In December 2024, the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime sharply reduced the flow of Syrian migrants.

Last year, 3,280 Syrians filed first-time asylum requests at Ter Apel, compared with 11,530 in 2024 and over 13,000 in 2023. Authorities note that these numbers exclude Syrians arriving through family reunification or follow-up migration, which remained higher than in 2024 due to IND processing delays.

Eritrea matched Syria in first-time requests, while Turkey ranked third among countries of origin. “Asylum seekers from other countries are now playing a larger role in total arrivals,” an IND spokesperson said.

The decline is part of a wider European trend. Across the continent, first-time asylum applications fell further in 2025, continuing a downward trajectory that began in late 2023. The EU border agency Frontex reported earlier this month that the number of people attempting to cross EU borders illegally dropped by 25 percent last year.