Asylum requests; by citizenship, from 1975

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Citizenship First requests for asylum (persons) (number) Family members (persons) (number)
Total 24,140 16,470
(former) Soviet Union 1,175 30
(former) Yugoslavia 40 0
Afghan 765 190
Albanian 20 0
Algerian 1,210 5
Angolan 80 5
Armenian 45 0
Azerbaijani 175 0
Belorussian 105 0
Bengali 35 0
Beninese 15 0
Bosnian 5 0
Bulgarian 0 0
Burundian 10 0
Cameroonian 40 5
Chilean 0 0
Chinese 260 25
Colombian 395 10
Congolese 40 0
Congolese (Democratic Republic) 30 5
Cuban 20 0
Czech . .
Czechslovak . .
Egyptian 325 45
Eritrean 3,135 310
Estonian 0 0
Ethiopian 670 35
Gambian 205 10
Georgian 210 0
Ghanaian 70 5
Guinean 150 10
Hungarian 5 0
Indian 80 0
Indonesian 35 0
Iranian 435 90
Iraqi 575 250
Israeli 10 0
Ivorian 20 0
Jordanian 165 5
Kazakh 30 0
Kosovar 5 0
Kyrgyz 5 0
Latvian 0 0
Lebanese 90 20
Liberian 25 0
Libyan 290 10
Lithuanian 5 0
Macedonian 25 0
Malian 30 5
Mauritanian 5 0
Moldavian 140 5
Mongolian 15 0
Moroccan 670 10
Myanmarese 90 5
Nepalese 10 0
Nigerian 815 30
Nigerien 15 5
North Korean . .
Pakistani 695 360
Panamanian 5 0
Polish 45 0
Romanian 5 0
Russian 210 5
Rwandan 5 5
Senegalese 40 0
Citizen of Serbia and Montenegro . .
Sierra Leonan 525 5
Slovak 0 0
Somali 1,290 395
South African 15 0
Soviet Russian . .
Sri Lankan 55 10
Sudanese 795 15
Surinamese 15 0
Syrian 3,285 12,110
Tajik 25 20
Togolese 10 0
Tunisian 260 0
Turkish 1,480 465
Ugandan 410 30
Ukrainian 75 0
Uzbek 115 0
Venezuelan 185 0
Vietnamese 20 0
Yemeni 510 1,475
Unknown 1,635 430
Stateless 35 25
Source: CBS.
Explanation of symbols

Table explanation


This table provides annual figures of asylum requests and following family members (persons and procedures), by citizenship. Apart from the total number of requests and family members, the number of first requests and subsequent requests is also included. The distinction between first requests and subsequent requests cannot be made before the reference year 2007. Therefore the number of first requests is set equal to the number of total requests. The distinction between asylum requests and family members can, until now, not be made before the reference year 2013. For some individual countries, no data is available for the years before 1994. However, the number of requests for asylum for these countries are included in the total number of requests. In all cases it concerns small numbers. From 2016 onwards the number of first requests includes relocation.

Data available from: 1975.

Status of the figures:
The figures until 2024 are final.
The figures for 2025 are provisional.

Changes as of January 2026:
Provisional figures for 2025 have been added.

When will new figures be published?
The new figures for 2026 will be published in February 2027.

Description topics

First requests for asylum (persons)
Requests for asylum are submitted by persons who have left their country in order to seek asylum in another country. An asylum seeker may submit more than one request for asylum.

As from 2007, it is possible to distinguish first requests and subsequent requests. The data before 2007 include both first and subsequent requests. As from 2007 the data include first requests only.
From 2016 onwards the number of first requests includes relocation.
Family members (persons)
Following relatives are family members of an asylum seeker with an asylum permit. The family members actually entered the Netherlands and immediately received an asylum permit upon arrival.

In order to bring family members to the Netherlands, the permit holder must apply for a temporary stay (mvv). This application must be made within 3 months after the asylum permit has been granted. After granting, the mvv is valid for 90 days. The family members can collect the mvv’s at the consular services of embassies and use them to enter the Netherlands. The number of asylum permits for family reunification in the table is therefore not equal to the number of mvv’s issued to these following relatives.