Executive summary

Since 2017, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) has been collecting data on all asylum seekers who arrive at reception centres run by the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) and on asylum seekers with residence status (known as ‘status holders’) who have been granted an asylum residence permit since 2014, including family reunification applicants and their following family members. This tenth edition of the annual report on this cohort study provides insight into asylum seekers arriving at COA reception centres and the characteristics of asylum seekers with residence status between 2014 and the first half of 2025. This report also provides the latest information on the living situation of these status holders and the degree to which they have integrated into Dutch society. The figures presented here include the numbers entering and leaving COA accommodation, the waiting period for asylum residence permits, housing, civic integration, household composition, family reunification, education, naturalisation, work and income, health care utilisation and crime. The report also focuses on unaccompanied minors arriving from other countries and devotes a specific section to the Ukrainian migrants who have come to the Netherlands under the Temporary Protection Directive (RTB) since the 24^th of February 2022 (the date on which the war in Ukraine began). In addition to this report, there is also an interactive dashboard with more information on asylum seekers, integration of status holders and data on the Ukrainian migrants under the RTB.

This research has been commissioned by the Ministry of Justice and Security (JenV) and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW).

Latest news concerning asylum seekers entering COA accommodation and their stay there:

• The number of asylum seekers entering COA accommodation in the first half of 2025 decreased – In the first half of 2025, 20 thousand asylum seekers arrived at COA reception centres, 4 thousand fewer than in the first half of 2024. Throughout 2024, 48 thousand asylum seekers entered COA accommodation, fewer than in 2023 (51 thousand). The rise in numbers in 2022, 2023 and 2024 follows a lower number of asylum seekers entering COA accommodation in 2020 (22 thousand).
• More asylum seekers from Eritrea, fewer from Iraq and Yemen – Up until 2020, asylum seekers from Eritrea formed the second-largest group of asylum seekers entering COA accommodation, after those from Syria. In 2021, the second-largest group of migrants was from Afghanistan; in 2022 and 2023, it was migrants from Türkiye, and in 2024, migrants from Iraq. In the first half of 2025, asylum seekers of Eritrean nationality were once again the second-largest group, while the number of arrivals from Yemen fell during this period.
• Relatively high proportion of young men – To date, over three-quarters of all asylum seekers are under the age of 35 when they arrive in the Netherlands, around 50 to 60 percent are under the age of 25. At 67 percent, the share of men was somewhat lower in the first half of 2025 than in previous years. These were predominantly young men aged between 15 and 20.
• Proportion of men from Syria has fallen – In the first half of 2025, the share of male asylum seekers among asylum seekers from Syria was 49 percent, including a significant share of children aged between 5 and 10. Between 2019 and 2025, the share of (young) men among asylum seekers from Syria was around two-thirds. This was also the case for the first two asylum cohorts in 2014 and 2015. In 2016 and 2017, by contrast, the percentage of women and the percentage of young children were both somewhat higher than in the previous years, and also higher than in the most recent years. This was largely due to the relatively high shares of following family members among migrants from Syria compared to the other years.
• Fewer unaccompanied asylum seekers – In the first half of 2025, 34 percent of asylum seekers entering COA accommodation were single, comparable to the share in 2016 and 2017. Between 2019 and 2025, this share ranged between 44 and 51 percent. Particularly among Syrians, the percentage arriving in the Netherlands as unaccompanied asylum seekers has fallen – from 37 percent in 2024 to 12 percent in the first half of 2025.
• Eritreans and Syrians are more likely to have their own address – On average, nearly 42 percent of all asylum seekers who entered COA accommodation between 2014 and 2023 had left COA accommodation after twelve months and were registered independently at an address in a municipal area. In short, we refer to this as having their own address. Eritreans and Syrians are the most likely to have their own address within twelve months, at 63 and 61 percent respectively, while Iranians are the least likely to have their own address, at 16 percent.
• Almost half of asylum seekers in regular COA accommodation after one month – 48 percent of asylum seekers who entered COA accommodation in 2024 were placed in a regular reception centre one month after their arrival. An additional 39 percent were in emergency accommodation and 3 percent were in crisis emergency accommodation. Three months after arriving, the share in regular COA accommodation fell to 43 percent, while the share in emergency accommodation rose to 45 percent. The share in crisis emergency accommodation after three months rose to 9 percent.
• Number of times moved between COA reception centres rose slightly among the most recent cohorts – Asylum seekers moved between COA locations an average of 2 times, across all cohorts. From the 2020 cohort onwards, the number of moves within two years of entering COA accommodation increased. This increase may be due to the greater number of emergency locations in temporary usage. Asylum seekers who entered COA accommodation between 2021 and the first half of 2025 were slightly more likely to move to another reception location in the first three months, on average, than those from previous cohorts.
• Significant drop in the number of asylum seekers with residence status after one year in the Netherlands – On average, 71 percent of all asylum seekers who entered COA accommodation between 2014 and 2023 were granted a temporary asylum residence permit within twelve months. For the 2023 cohort – the most recent cohort for which the permit status after twelve months is known – the share was 41 percent, which is lower than in all previous years. The share was also lower than the 2019 cohort, when fewer residence permits may have been granted due to the COVID pandemic in 2020. The figures vary widely between different arrival cohorts and different nationalitiesnoot1: 85 percent of Syrians and 87 percent of Eritreans and 84 percent of Syrians who arrived between 2014 and 2023 were granted a residence permit within twelve months. Arrivals from Iran had the lowest percentage, at 28 percent.
• Differences in the allocation of residence status among nationalities – Almost all Syrian and Eritrean asylum seekers from the 2014 cohort, who were still residing in the Netherlands on 1 July 2025, had received a residence permit within a year and a half of their arrival. In comparison, around two-thirds of asylum seekers from Iraq in this cohort received a residence permit within the same period. After ten years, 105 asylum seekers from the 2014 cohort remain in COA reception centres without residence status. This does not mean that the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) is currently processing the applications of all these persons. Some remain in COA accommodation after a rejected asylum application and are now awaiting their departure. Others are awaiting a court decision regarding an appeal. Furthermore, following a rejection, applicants are entitled to submit a second or subsequent asylum application – for example if there has been a change in their situation or because new information has become available regarding their country of origin.
• Most asylum seekers who left the Netherlands did so independently (with unknown destination) – Of the nearly 27 thousand asylum seekers who entered COA accommodation in 2014, 6,070 had left again after ten-and-a-half years or were temporarily not registered in the personal records database (BRP). This is nearly 23 percent of the initial number of asylum seekers who entered COA accommodation in 2014. Most asylum seekers who leave the Netherlands do so independently. Asylum seekers that leave of their own accord are known as ‘independent departure with unknown destination’. Of the 2014 intake cohort, 2,055 asylum seekers belonged to this category and had departed after a period of ten-and-a-half years, which is one-third of all those who had left. For a small number of asylum seekers who do not want to leave and will not accept help from the government, the Repatriation and Departure Service (DTenV) initiates a forced departure procedure: in the 2014 cohort, this was the case for 365 asylum seekers after ten-and-a-half years.
• Asylum seekers in employment – This is the first edition to include figures on asylum seekers in employment who are staying in COA accommodation or have been placed there administratively and do not yet have a residence permit. Asylum seekers without a residence permit may only work if their employer has obtained a work permit (TWV) for them. Since the end of November 2023, the 24‑week requirement – which stipulated that asylum seekers could work for a maximum of 24 weeks within a 52‑week period – has been lifted. The number of asylum seekers in COA accommodation who do not (yet) have a residence permit and are employed has risen significantly in the most recent cohorts (2023 and 2024). This may be linked to the abolition of the aforementioned 24‑week requirement.
• Nearly 35 thousand unaccompanied minors – Nearly 35 thousand unaccompanied minors have arrived in the Netherlands since 2014. Nidos is the organisation that provides care for unaccompanied minors in the Netherlands. The majority of unaccompanied minors were from Syria (38 percent) and Eritrea (24 percent). The number of unaccompanied minors arriving was particularly high in 2023 (6,565 new unaccompanied minors). In the first half of 2025, 1,655 new unaccompanied minors arrived in the Netherlands. Two-thirds of all unaccompanied minors are aged 15, 16 or 17, and 84 percent of them are young men. Very young unaccompanied minors are rare: only 1 percent are under the age of five.
• In the first half of 2024, 275 resettled refugees entered COA accommodation – Since 2014, 8,600 resettled refugees have entered COA accommodation. The largest number of resettled refugees entering COA accommodation was in 2017, when more than 2 thousand refugees arrived. The group of resettled refugees arriving at COA reception centres consists mainly of people of Syrian nationality, namely 83 percent.

Latest news concerning housing and civic integration among asylum seekers with residence status and following family members, as well as family reunification applicants:

• Number of residence permits issued in first half of 2025 lower than in 2024 – In the first half of 2025, nearly 19 thousand residence permits were issued to asylum seekers, 3 thousand fewer than in the first half of 2024. In 2024 the number was over 34 thousand and in 2023 this was almost 31 thousand. Following family members who come to the Netherlands to join a status holder are granted a (derived) asylum residence permit and, as such, are also included as status holders in this study; the same applies to family reunification applicants.
• Most asylum seekers from Syria, other top 5 nationalitiesnoot2 vary – Between 2014 and 2020, migrants from Syria and Eritrea were the largest and second-largest groups of asylum seekers, respectively, who were granted residency. In 2021 migrants from Afghanistan were in second place, and in 2022 it was migrants from Türkiye. In 2023, it was Yemen and in 2024 and the first half of 2025, migrants from Eritrea were once again the second-largest group.
• Little change in number of following family members in recent years – Since 2014, slightly more than 110 thousand following family members have been granted residency. Nearly 70 percent of these are Syrians. The share of residence permits granted to following family members varies between cohorts. It stood at 51 percent in 2017, and at 40 percent in the first half of 2025. In absolute terms, the number of residence permits granted to following family members did not vary much between 2021 and 2024, between 10 and 12 thousand per year. In the first half of 2025, over 7 thousand residence permits were granted to following family members.
• More following family members after two-and-a-half years for recent cohorts compared with 2017–2019 – The percentage of status holders (excluding following family members) who were joined by relatives after two-and-a-half years declined sharply in the 2017, 2018 and 2019 cohorts. Of these cohorts, between 9 and 12 percent of status holders were joined by relatives under the following family members rules, and between 5 and 7 percent of status holders were joined by relatives under the regular family reunification rules after two and a half years. In 2020, 2021 and 2022, the share was higher, particularly in cases of family reunification (between 19 and 25 percent).
• Proportion of following family members joining unaccompanied minors has increased since 2018, but remained stable in 2022 – Among unaccompanied minors granted residency, 41 percent were joined by relatives within two-and-a-half years under following family members rules and 12 percent under regular family reunification rules. In absolute terms, unaccompanied minors were joined by relatives most often in 2016 (namely 1,270 under following family members rules and 350 under regular family reunification rules).
• Average waiting time for residence status longer in 2023 and 2024 – The average waiting time for all status holders to be granted a residence permit between 2014 and the first half of 2025 was 204 days. This was another slight increase on the average waiting time reported for the previous two years (195 days in 2025 and 175 days in 2024). Asylum seekers from Eritrea and Syria received their residence permits relatively quickly (after 147 days and 123 days, on average).
• Few differences between regions – Status holders are well distributed across the Netherlands, both two months after leaving COA accommodation and two years afterwards. There is limited variation between municipalities (status holders per 10 thousand inhabitants).
• Status holders tend to move to urban areas over time – The longer status holders stay in the Netherlands, the more likely they are to live in urban areas. Among the cohort granted residency in 2014, 53 percent were living in highly urbanised areas or very highly urbanised areas after two months, but this share increased to 62 percent after ten years.
• Status holders mainly live in rental housing – As of the 1^st of July 2025, the more than 311 thousand status holders who were granted residence permits between 2014 and the first half of 2025 lived in a total of 119 thousand households . Of the 2014 cohort, the vast majority (92 percent) of households lived in rental housing as of the 1^st of July 2025.
• Proportion of single-person households higher in the 2023 cohort, but lower in the 2024 cohort – Two months after leaving COA accommodation, half of the status holders from the 2017 to 2019 cohorts had a child living with them. This share fell to 44 percent or lower for more recent cohorts. In the 2014 cohort, the share was even lower, at 28 percent. There were more single-person households in the 2014 cohort, at 37 percent. For the subsequent cohorts, this share fell to 25 percent or lower. In the 2023 cohort, the share of single-person households was 29 percent, and in the 2024 cohort, the share was 23 percent.
• Status holders in more recent cohorts are more often in education – The longer status holders stay in the Netherlands, the more likely they are to be in education. Of the status holders who were granted residency in 2014, 28 percent were registered in education on the 1^st of October 2015. In October 2018, this share had risen to 39 percent. The share is even higher for more recent cohorts. Of the cohorts that arrived between 2017 and 2021, between 45 and 54 percent were in education for years after being granted residency. Even young people aged 18 and over (particularly those aged between 18 and 22) for whom education is no longer compulsory, are more likely to be in education the longer they stay in the Netherlands.
• High levels of participation in education among most recent cohorts of unaccompanied minors – Unaccompanied minors have become increasingly likely to take part in education in recent years. For instance, 57 percent of all unaccompanied minors who were granted residency in 2014 were in education as of the 1^st of October 2015. Among more recent cohorts, between 69 and 80 percent were in education one year after being granted residency, with the exception of the 2024 cohort (61 percent).
• Increase in participation in vocational education (MBO) – As status holders stay for longer in the Netherlands, more of them take part in secondary vocational education (MBO) or higher education. The share of status holders from 2014 in MBO programmes rose from 12 percent in 2015 to 55 percent in 2024.
• Majority of unaccompanied minors are in vocational education (MBO) – Most unaccompanied minors attend secondary vocational education (MBO). This is the case for between 74 and 86 percent of unaccompanied minors in education (from secondary education level upwards) across all cohorts, four years after being granted a residence permit.
• Level in MBO is increasing – The majority of status holders enrol in a Level 1 MBO programme in their initial years, and after that there is an increase in the other levels. On the 1^st of October 2015, 68 percent of status holders from the 2014 cohort who were following a Level 1 MBO programme. On the 1^st October 2025, the share in Level 1 was 10 percent. In 2025, the majority of status holders (41 percent) from the 2014 cohort were following a Level 4 MBO programme.
• 1 percent of those in cohort 2014 required to undergo civic integration have exceeded the deadline – When we look solely at those required to undergo civic integration in the 2014 cohort (including those exempted or with a dispensation), 32 percent of the nearly 20 thousand people in this category had either passed the civic integration exam or been exempted from doing so by October 2025.
• Most people who were granted residency and are aged between 18 and 65 are required to undergo civic integration under the 2013 Integration act. Of this group, 64 percent had passed the exam or had been granted a (temporary) exemption. This represents almost everyone (98 percent) in the group who are required to undergo civic integration and therefore have not been granted an exemption and have not left the country or passed away.
• One percent have not yet passed the exam and have exceeded the three-year integration period, and will be fined. Less than 0.5 percent had missed the deadline (but still have time to do so) and 7 percent of status holders have since left the country or passed away. For more recent cohorts, the share for those who have passed the exam or received (temporary) exemptions is, of course, lower.
• Differences between nationalities with respect to the civic integration exam – Nearly 75 percent of Iranians from the 2014 cohort had passed the civic integration exam or been granted a (temporary) dispensation by October 2025. Among those from Somalia, by contrast, this share was 42 percent – the lowest of any nationality. This share is low because 38 percent of this group have a full dispensation from the civic integration requirement.
• Language level mainly A2, particularly among Eritreans – Civic integration candidates learn how to read, write and speak the Dutch language to at least A2 level. This is the minimum level needed to get by in daily life. Across the cohorts, most (83 percent or more) attained the level of A2 in Dutch on the civic integration exam. Those of Eritrean nationality were the most likely to pass the civic integration exam at A2 level (98 percent). Status holders from Türkiye were the most likely to achieve the highest level of B2.
• Number of naturalisations six years after being granted residency is increasing – Once status holders have been resident in the Netherlands for five years, they can, under certain conditions, apply for Dutch citizenship by naturalisation. In the case of the 2014 cohort, 90 percent of status holders had naturalised as Dutch citizens after ten-and-a-half years. Among the Syrians granted residence permits in 2014, 95 percent held Dutch citizenship after ten-and-a-half years. For persons from Eritrea, this share was 84 percent.
• Work is main source of income for 4 out of 10 status holders ten years after receiving a residence permit – Many status holders have no income in the months immediately after receiving their residence permit. This is because they are often still living in a reception centre and receive a living allowance. After ten years, welfare benefits are the main source of income for 25 percent of status holders from cohort 2014, while for 40 percent of them it is paid work. The share of status holders in employment increases the longer they stay in the Netherlands. Male status holders are more likely to have work as their main source of income than female status holders.
• The main source of income varies with age. Young status holders, those younger than 25, are often still in education. From the age of 25 upwards, work is often the primary source of income, while from the age of 45 upwards, welfare benefits are the main source of income. Most unaccompanied minors continue to attend school for the first few years after receiving a residence permit. After ten years, the share of unaccompanied minors in the 2014 cohort with work as their main source of income had increased to 59 percent and the share in education had fallen to 11 percent.
• More status holders are in work – One year after being granted residency, around 3 percent of status holders from cohort 2014 were employed or self-employed. That share is higher among later cohorts – 15 percent in the 2022 cohort, for example. The longer status holders have been in the Netherlands, the more likely they are to be in employment: 56 percent of status holders in the 2014 cohort were in work after ten years.
• Unaccompanied minors more likely to be in part-time work with a temporary employment contract – Unaccompanied minors are slightly more likely to work part-time than the average status holder (69 versus 66 percent); they are also are more likely to have a temporary employment contract (80 versus 72 percent), to work for an employment agency (31 versus 22 percent) and to work in the accommodation and food services sector (23 versus 15 percent), but slightly less likely to work in commerce (17 versus 19 percent), and less likely to be self-employed (5 versus 8 percent).
• Status holders often work on zero-hour contracts – Most status holders have no fixed minimum number of working hours. The longer they stay in the Netherlands, however, the more likely they are to have an employment contract with a fixed minimum number of hours.
• Two-fifths of status holders from cohort 2014 who are in work have had five or more different jobs – After ten years, 41 percent of status holders from the 2014 cohort has had five or more jobs. Status holders from more recent cohorts were more likely to have had more jobs than status holders from older cohorts. Half of status holders from the 2021 cohort has had more than one job two years after being granted residency. The number of jobs that status holders have had in their careers increases gradually over time.
• Increasing number of working status holders in full-time employment – Status holders often begin their career with a part-time job. Two years after being granted a residence permit, 86 percent of those from the 2014 cohort that were employed, had a part-time job. More recent cohorts are more likely to work full-time, and the share working part-time is falling over time across all cohorts. After ten years, 54 percent of the employees among the 2014 cohort were working part-time and 46 percent were working full-time.
• Average hourly earnings of status holders in work rise sharply – Three years after being granted a residence permit, 11 percent of status holders from the 2014 cohort who were in work earned an average of 15 euros per hour or more. Among newer cohorts, this share is higher. In the 2020 cohort, nearly half (47 percent) were earning 15 euros per hour or more three years after being granted residency. The longer status holders live and work in the Netherlands, the higher their average hourly wage. After ten years, 90 percent of the 2014 cohort were earning 15 euros or more. When adjusted for inflation, the increase of average hourly wages over time and cohorts is still visible, though less strong.
• Number of benefit recipients among 2014 cohort down once again – 89 percent of those granted residency in 2014 and aged between 18 and 65 were receiving welfare benefits two years later. This share is lower in more recent cohorts. In the 2021 cohort, 73 percent were receiving welfare benefits two years after being granted residency. For the 2022 cohort, this was 77 percent. Ten years after being granted residency, 30 percent of the 2014 cohort were still reliant on welfare benefits.
• Income disparities between nationalities are limited – This is because a significant share of status holders rely on social assistance benefits, which are fixed amounts based on the situation of a given family. However, the average standardised disposable household income among status holders across all cohorts rises the longer they stay in the Netherlands. Status holders who were granted residency in 2014 had an average disposable household income of 12.3 thousand euros in 2015. By 2024, this had risen to 25.6 thousand euros.
• Health care usage remains the same after two years – Across all cohorts, over 96 percent had incurred health care costs due to visiting a GP two years after being granted a residence permit. Status holders from Eritrea incur the lowest health care costs from GP appointments, hospital care and medicines. Status holders from Iran are the most likely to incur costs for hospital care and medicines, while status holders from Yemen are the most likely to incur costs from GP appointments, on average.
• Slightly more young people receiving youth care – Of all the younger asylum seekers (aged 22 or younger) who were granted residency in 2014 or 2015 and were no longer living in COA accommodation, around 5 percent received some form of youth care in 2016. In 2024, 9 percent of status holders from the 2014–2015 cohorts received some form of youth care. This was highest among younger status holders from Iran (23 percent) and Afghanistan (11 percent). Most recipients of youth care receive youth assistance. In 2024, 1.1 percent of young asylum seekers aged under 22 were receiving assistance from youth protection services (for example the placement of status holders younger than 18 under legal guardianship), and one percent received juvenile rehabilitation services.
• Status holders more likely to be registered as criminal suspects than persons of European origin – Male status holders are slightly more likely to be criminal suspects than men of Dutch or European origin. The number of status holders aged 18–22 from the 2022 cohort who were suspected of a crime in the 2024 reporting year was 95 – this is nearly 400 suspects per 10 thousand status holders; in the 23 to 44 age group, the total was 120 – relatively speaking this is nearly 150 suspects per 10 thousand status holders.
• The fact that a person is registered as a suspect in a criminal case does not necessarily mean that they have been convicted. The share of convicted offenders among all status holders (regardless of age and gender) amounts to one percent or less across all cohorts up to and including the 2023 reporting year, while the share of suspects per cohort varies between one and two percent. Figures on convicted offenders for the 2024 reporting year are not yet available.

Latest news concerning Ukrainians who have arrived in the Netherlands since February 2022 under the Temporary Protection Directive:

• More women than men – Until June 2025, 182 thousand refugees from Ukraine had registered as resident in a municipality in the Netherlands, of whom nearly 129 thousand were still resident in the Netherlands on the 1^st of July 2025. Most of those refugees hold Ukrainian nationality (175 thousand) but a small number (7 thousand) hold another nationality (this group is known as third-country nationals). Until July 2022, around 65 percent of Ukrainian refugees in the Netherlands were women. This percentage has dropped to between 56 and 60 percent in the other recent (4) cohorts.
• Nearly 29 percent of Ukrainians had left the Netherlands before the 1^st of July 2025 – Most refugees from Ukraine live at a municipal reception centre or with private citizens, such as host families. On the 1^st of July 2025, around 750 refugees who had arrived in the Netherlands since the start of the war were staying at a COA reception centre, and 600 refugees had since died. Almost 29 percent of all Ukrainian refugees had left the Netherlands by the 1^st of July 2025.
• Mainly single persons and children living with their parents – Refugees who hold Ukrainian citizenship are less likely than third-country nationals to be single persons.
• A total of 67 percent of refugees from Ukraine are single compared with 45 percent of third-country nationals, 22 percent are children living with their parents (compared with 4 percent of third-country nationals), and 9 percent are parents in single-parent households (compared with 2 percent of third-country nationals). In the most recent cohort, the share of single persons within the group as a whole (Ukrainians and third-country nationals) is higher than in the first cohort: 61 percent in the first half of 2025 compared with 36 percent in the first half of 2022.
• 47 percent are in work after four months in the Netherlands – Four months after obtaining temporary protection in the Netherlands, 47 percent of refugees from Ukraine are in employment: 46 percent of those with Ukrainian nationality, and 64 percent of third-country nationals. After six months, almost half (47 percent) of the employed Ukrainian refugees are in full-time employment. Most Ukrainian refugees work for employment agencies (52 percent) or in the accommodation and food services sector (14 percent), which is similar to the average for all status holders.
• Ukrainians are distributed throughout the Netherlands – Like other status holders, Ukrainians live throughout the Netherlands. One month after obtaining temporary protection, most Ukrainians are registered in the municipalities of Amsterdam (over 8 thousand), The Hague (nearly 6 thousand), Rotterdam (over 5 thousand), Westland and Almere (both nearly 3 thousand). Of these five municipalities, Westland has the largest relative share of Ukrainians (248 per 10 thousand inhabitants).