2.7 thousand asylum requests in January

© Hollandse Hoogte
In January 2017, a total of 2.7 thousand new asylum seekers and following family members were registered, down 1.2 thousand compared to December 2016 and nearly 700 fewer than in January 2016, as reported by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) based on new figures released by the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND).

The decline is mainly attributable to a decrease in the number of following family members in comparison with December (1.3 thousand vs. 2.3 thousand). The number of first asylum requests was slightly lower at 1.4 thousand than one month previously (1.5 thousand).

Most asylum seekers and family members from Syria

Similar to the previous month, the largest group among first-time asylum seekers was from Syria (255), followed by Eritrea (195), Algeria (120), Morocco (90) and Georgia (75).
In January, the large majority of following family members were from Syria (895); another 155 following relatives were stateless persons while 125 were Eritrean nationals.