Asylum applications down by 13% in Q3 2026, year on year

In Q3 2026, nearly 5.9 thousand people applied for asylum for the first time. That was 850 fewer applications than in Q3 2025. Fewer asylum applications were received from Eritreans and Syrians, in particular. Also in Q3 2026, 3.2 thousand family members came to the Netherlands to join their relatives, which was 1.5 thousand fewer than in Q3 2025. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of the latest figures from the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND).

Over the first three quarters of 2026, the number of applications was actually 8 percent higher than it was in the same period in 2025. Looking only at Q3 2026, however, the number of asylum applications was down by 3 percent compared with the previous quarter. The third quarter of this year was the first full quarter following the introduction of the new European Pact on Migration and Asylum.

Asylum applications from Eritreans and Syrians down by half

The number of first-time asylum applications from Eritreans and Syrians in Q3 this year was around half the number received in Q3 2025. People from Eritrea made 480 asylum applications, making them the largest group by nationality. Syrians submitted 470 asylum applications, making them the second-largest group by nationality. In Q3 of 2025, nearly 900 asylum applications were received from people from Syria.

Another 450 applications were submitted by people of unknown nationality. The number of asylum applications from Ukrainians rose from 15 to 140, while the number of asylum applications from people from Ethiopia fell from 290 to 75.

Fewer family member arrivals, particularly from Syria and Yemen

A total of 3.2 thousand family members of asylum seekers who had already been granted residence in the Netherlands arrived in the Netherlands in Q3 2026. That was 1.5 thousand fewer than in Q3 2025. There were fewer family member arrivals from Syria and Yemen, in particular.

70 percent of family member arrivals came from Syria – around 2.2 thousand people. The next largest group of family member arrivals were those of unknown nationality (200), Yemen (155) and Türkiye (130).

The number of following family members was 25 percent lower than it was in Q2 2026. Over the first three quarters of 2026 as a whole, the number of family member arrivals was down by 1 percent compared with the same period in 2025.

The rules concerning following family members were changed on 12 June this year. This is the result of the introduction of a new dual-status system.