Requests for asylum

In some cases, asylum seekers can submit more than one request. For that reason, the figures of some countries include follow-up requests. Follow-up requests can be submitted, if new facts emerge. Even if there are no new facts, there may be another reason to reconsider a request. For instance, if the policy with respect to safe countries has changed. There is no accurate indication of the number of follow-up requests in other countries. The risk of double counts complicates comparison with other countries more difficult.

Dutch figures on 2007 and 2008 in this article solely refer to first requests (7.4 thousand and 13.4 thousand respectively). The total amount of requests (including follow-up requests) for these years was 9.7 thousand and 15.3 thousand. For the Netherlands, only the total number of requests for asylum is available for the period up to and including 2006 (i.e. including follow-up requests).

To make this article more accessible, the terms asylum seekers and asylum requests are interchangeable. Because one asylum seeker can submit more than one request, asylum seeker should be interpreted as asylum request.