More asylum applications in Q2 2022

Children from an asylum shelter saying goodbye to their teacher at the end of the school year.
© Hollandse Hoogte / Kees van de Veen
In Q2 2022, over 7 thousand people submitted their first application for asylum in the Netherlands. This is 9 percent up on the previous quarter. The number of persons arriving in connection with family reunification rose to slightly over 3 thousand. Altogether 15 Ukrainians and 170 Russians requested asylum for the first time. This is reported by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) on the basis of the latest asylum figures from the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND).

In Q2 2022, a total of 7,050 asylum seekers filed their first application, which is 565 up on the previous quarter (+9 percent). This is over twice the number one year previously, when measures against COVID-19 resulted in lower influx.There were 5,190 first-time asylum requests in Q2 2019.

In Q2 of this year, a total of 2,260 Syrians filed their first application. There were still 1,640 applications by Syrians in Q1 2022. The number of Turkish asylum seekers almost doubled relative to Q1, namely to 695 (+93 percent). After Turks and Syrians, the largest group of asylum seekers in Q2 were Afghans (630). There were 300 first applications by Somali nationals. Due to the security situation and prolonged drought in the country, the number of first asylum applications from this group has increased since Q3 2021.

More family reunification

There were 3,140 family member arrivals in Q2, i.e. 585 more than in Q1 (+23 percent). Relative to Q2 2021, the number of following relatives increased by 21 percent. The majority of these family members are from Syria (71 percent), representing an increase of 28 percent on the previous quarter.
The number of Turkish relatives rose by 115 (+82 percent). In addition, 155 relatives arrived from Eritrea and 115 from Yemen.
There were fewer stateless relatives in Q2. Their number declined from 135 in Q1 to 95 in Q2.

International developments

In 2020 and 2021, the Netherlands received fewer first asylum applications and fewer following family members. This was due to travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. After the travel restrictions were lifted, the number of asylum applications and following relatives increased again in the first half of 2022.

Due to the war in Ukraine, the number of initial asylum applications from Ukraine increased in Q1 2022. Ukrainians are not obliged to apply for asylum in order to stay and work in the Netherlands, but some of them did so in Q1. The number of asylum applications from Ukraine has now returned to the level it was at before March 2022. In Q2 2022, a total of 15 Ukrainians submitted an asylum request.
An increase in asylum requests was also seen among applicants from Russia: 120 in Q1 2022. This increase continued in Q2 2022. In Q2, 170 people from Russia applied for asylum in the Netherlands.

Sources

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