Extra asylum intake unit to be built in Bant

State Secretary for Justice and Security Eric van der Burg wrote to the House of Representatives of the Netherlands to announce that a location has been found for an extra asylum intake unit in Bant. The plot on which the asylum intake unit is to be built was purchased by the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA). The COA today submitted an official request to Noordoostpolder’s municipal executive for the purposes of developing an asylum intake unit.

State Secretary Van der Burg: ‘It is great that a suitable location has been found for an extra asylum intake unit. This marks a significant step towards evening out the pressure on the asylum system across the Netherlands. Which is badly needed, particularly for Ter Apel. It would be prudent now to get moving and build the asylum intake unit and complete the accompanying permit procedures. Meanwhile, our quest to build more intake units and asylum centres on the one hand and to work on making inflow and outflow manageable on the other continues unabated. For example, we are working step by step towards having a robust, stable and sustainable asylum landscape and policy’.

Extra asylum intake unit

An extra asylum intake unit can be built on the plot purchased, where asylum seekers will work through the initial steps of their application procedure. A fourth site with intake facilities will also be added, on top of the existing sites at Ter Apel, Budel and Zevenaar (for family reunion). Initially, the Bant site will handle the process steps pertaining to identification, registration and medical checks. There will be capacity for approximately 250-300 asylum seekers working through this part of the asylum process.

Going forward

Now that the COA has submitted a formal request to the local authority for the purposes of building the asylum intake unit, it will be important to reach agreement in proper consultation with the local authority. In-depth talks will therefore be held with Noordoostpolder’s municipal executive and council over the next few months to flesh out the details for the asylum intake unit.