Fewer asylum requests and more following family members in 2024

Refugees seeking asylum at the reception centre in Ter Apel
© ANP / Robin Utrecht
Over 32 thousand people submitted a first-time application for asylum in the Netherlands in 2024. That was 16 percent fewer asylum requests than in 2023. Meanwhile, the number of following family members increased to 11.9 thousand people, 17 percent more than in 2023. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of the most recent asylum figures from the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND).

First-time asylum requests and following family members
JaartalKwartaalAsylum requests (x 1,000)Following family members (x 1,000)
2018Q14.1552.140
2018Q24.3201.970
2018Q36.2051.280
2018Q45.8351.070
2019Q15.3800.845
2019Q25.1900.890
2019Q35.8701.200
2019Q46.1001.245
2020Q14.4701.065
2020Q21.2550.260
2020Q34.1000.860
2020Q43.8951.680
2021Q12.7201.510
2021Q23.3402.600
2021Q38.8152.780
2021Q49.8703.230
2022Q16.4502.570
2022Q27.3253.165
2022Q311.0153.650
2022Q410.7451.545
2023Q16.9401.905
2023Q27.9502.630
2023Q310.5102.600
2023Q412.9752.990
2024Q18.9653.090
2024Q27.7102.780
2024Q38.1152.650
2024Q47.2403.290

As in previous years, the majority of asylum applications in 2024 were submitted by people from Syria - a total of 11.5 thousand. After Syria, the second-highest number of asylum requests came from people from Iraq (2.2 thousand first-time asylum requests), followed by people from Türkiye/Turkey (1.9 thousand) and Eritrea (1.5 thousand).

The number of first-time asylum applications from Syrians fell for the first time in five years in 2024 and was 12% lower than in 2023. The number of asylum applications from people from Türkiye, Eritrea and Yemen also declined compared to 2023, by 35 percent, 38 percent and 45 percent respectively. The number of asylum requests from Iraqis has risen over the past five years, by contrast, especially in 2023 and in the first half of 2024.

First-time asylum applications, main nationalities
 20202021202220232024
Syria40708380126501303011525
Iraq33574567014952220
Türkiye (Turkey) 9902460268528601870
Eritrea370770136523451465
Yemen4101190243019801080
Somalia200905145518051075
 

Fewer asylum requests in Q4 2024

The Netherlands received 7.2 thousand applications for asylum in the fourth quarter of 2024. This was almost 11 percent fewer than in the previous quarter, when 8.2 thousand first-time asylum applications were received. Fewer asylum applications were submitted in the second half of 2024 than in the first half of the year. Between 2021 and 2023, the opposite was true: in those years, the number of asylum requests peaked in the second half of the year.

Compared to Q4 2023, the number of asylum requests received in Q4 2024 declined by 5.7 thousand, or 44 percent.

Slightly fewer family member arrivals

A total of 11.9 thousand following family members came to the Netherlands in 2024. That was 1.8 thousand more than in 2023. This rise was mainly because more following family members came to the Netherlands from Syria: 8.7 thousand people in 2024, compared to 6.7 thousand in 2023. The number of following family members from Türkiye fell by 59 percent by 2024.

Following family members, main nationalities
Land20202021202220232024
Syrian14606440724066958710
Yemeni425650375820830
Turkish25573510951145470
Iraqi110265130255395
Other16152030208512101475