Fewer asylum seekers compared to 2014 and 2015

© ANP
In total 2,085 people registered as asylum seekers or following family members in the Netherlands in July. The number of asylum seekers and following family members remained below that of July 2014 and July 2015, as did the total over the first seven months of this year. Syrians accounted for 3 out of 10 of all first and following asylum requests, followed by Albanians and people from former Yugoslavia (2 out of 10).

In July, a total of 1,425 people filed a first asylum request while 660 following family members arrived in the country. Among them were 600 Syrians and nearly 300 Eritreans. Four out of five Syrians were following a family member who had already arrived in the Netherlands. For Eritreans, this was one out of three.

Asylum requests and following relatives by age and gender
 2013201420152016
Jan1200161015953340
Feb835133013152465
Mar865127013601675
Apr990259517101325
May845350032451430
Jun985197041701480
July1105253046252085
Aug97524556940
Sep143034208405
Oct1495246511720
Nov144519507305
Dec131020754555

More children, fewer men

Just as in the previous month, more children than adult men came to the Netherlands in July. Since October 2015, the percentage of adult men has declined from 51 to 32. At the same time, the percentage of children has increased from 28 to 42. In July, adult women claiming asylum in the Netherlands (filing a first request or following a spouse) accounted for 26 percent. These trends reflect a shift from asylum seekers to following dependents. Over the past two years, asylum seekers travelling alone ahead of their families have often been men. Women and children have predominantly followed as family members.

1 in 5 asylum seekers from Albania or former Yugoslavia

Again, more than 400 people claiming asylum in July were from Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia. As the influx from Syria and Afghanistan has diminished since late 2015, the share of asylum seekers from Albania and former Yugoslavia has now reached 20 percent. Chances of obtaining a residence permit tend to be very low for these asylum seekers.

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