Housing needed for 21,200 asylum permit holders in first half of 2023
The government has asked municipalities and provinces to house 21,200 asylum permit holders in the first half of 2023. Asylum permit holders are asylum seekers who have been granted a Dutch residence permit, for example because they have fled from war, violence or persecution.
This number, 21,200, is based on the number of asylum seekers that will be granted a residence permit in the period from 1 July 2022 until 31 March 2023. The government has also considered the high number of asylum permit holders in asylum reception centres on 1 July 2022, which is 15,270. The increased influx of asylum seekers and issues with the outflow of asylum permit holders to municipalities have also been taken into account.
Lastly, the group of roughly 100 Afghan-Dutch evacuees, who are temporarily being housed in hotels by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations while they await permanent housing, has been included in the target as well.
In March 2023, another interim evaluation will be carried out to assess whether this target still meets expectations or needs to be adjusted. If more asylum permit holders need to be housed, this will be moved to the target for the second half of 2023.
Asylum reception under pressure
The asylum reception system in the Netherlands is under significant pressure. There are not enough reception spaces, due to an increased influx of asylum seekers in combination with issues with the outflow of asylum permit holders. On 1 July 2022, 15,270 asylum permit holders were staying in reception centres of the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA). It is imperative to find permanent accommodation for them in order to ease the pressure on the reception centres.
Ukraine
It remains impossible to predict how the target will be affected by the situation in Ukraine. Once it becomes difficult to house the number of refugees from Ukraine, it will be necessary to find a distinct solution that is unrelated to the target.