More family reunification from Eritrea

A total of nearly 8 thousand asylum seekers and following family members reached the Netherlands in Q2 2017. The largest group came from Syria, the second largest from Eritrea. Over half of Eritrean asylum seekers and following family members are minors. In 2016, many of these underage asylum seekers came to the Netherlands unaccompanied by an adult.

Not only Eritrean asylum seekers have been outnumbered by following family members since Q4 2016; this applies to the entire group of following relatives. More than half of these are from Syria.

Again fewer asylum seekers from ‘safe countries’

The number of asylum requests from countries mentioned in the list of safe countries of origin from the Ministry of Security and Justice decreased further in Q2. There were 350 asylum seekers from Algeria and Morocco and 175 from Albania and former Yugoslavia. In Q3 2016, as many as 1,850 people from these countries applied for asylum. According to the ministry, there are no structural human rights violations in these countries and their asylum requests are therefore usually rejected. In addition to the above countries, the list includes Georgia, Ukraine, the United States and Brazil, amongst others.

Hardly any change in composition of asylum seekers and following relatives

The percentage shares of male and female adults among asylum seekers and following family members have become more and more similar since mid-year 2015. In Q2 2017, 33 percent of asylum seekers and following relatives were male adults; 28 percent were female adults. Minors accounted for a share of 39 percent. The rising share of women and minors reflects the shift from asylum seekers to following family members, as the latter group usually includes more women and children than the group of asylum seekers.