How many people apply for asylum in the Netherlands?

In 2023, over 38 thousand people applied for asylum in the Netherlands for the first time. In addition, 10 thousand family members of people who had already been granted asylum – known as following family members – arrived in the Netherlands. Most asylum requests were made by people from Syria: 13 thousand. Most following family member applicants also came from Syria.

First-time asylum applicants were mostly men, accounting for three-quarters of all first-time requests. Among asylum seekers from Syria and Yemen, this percentage was even higher (84 and 83 percent, respectively). Most asylum seekers were younger than 35 when they made their asylum request, and almost 3 in 10 asylum seekers were younger than 18. Nearly half of asylum seekers from Eritrea were under 18.

Show datatableFirst asylum applications, main nationality groups (x 1,000)Hide datatableFirst asylum applications, main nationality groups (x 1,000)

First asylum applications, main nationality groups (x 1,000)

Jaartal	Kwartaal	Syrian	Turkish	Eritrean	Yemeni	other
2020	Q1, 2020	1.10	0.25	0.10	0.14	2.89
2020	Q2, 2020	0.36	0.05	0.04	0.07	0.74
2020	Q3, 2020	1.37	0.45	0.11	0.13	2.05
2020	Q4, 2020	1.25	0.24	0.12	0.08	2.21
2021	Q1, 2021	0.90	0.09	0.11	0.08	1.55
2021	Q2, 2021	1.02	0.38	0.18	0.11	1.67
2021	Q3, 2021	2.55	1.54	0.21	0.32	4.21
2021	Q4, 2021	3.92	0.46	0.28	0.69	4.53
2022	Q1, 2022	1.63	0.36	0.25	0.53	3.69
2022	Q2, 2022	2.25	0.70	0.26	0.55	3.58
2022	Q3, 2022	4.60	0.94	0.47	0.68	4.34
2022	Q4, 2022	4.19	0.70	0.40	0.68	4.79
2023	Q1, 2023	1.56	0.48	0.39	0.49	4.04
2023	Q2, 2023	2.38	0.51	0.51	0.52	4.05
2023	Q3, 2023	4.32	0.88	0.75	0.42	4.15
2023	Q4, 2023	4.78	1.01	0.71	0.56	5.92

Show datatableFirst asylum applications, main nationality groups, 2023 (x 1,000)Hide datatableFirst asylum applications, main nationality groups, 2023 (x 1,000)

First asylum applications, main nationality groups, 2023 (x 1,000)

Leeftijd	Under 18 years	18-24 years old	25-34 years old	35-44 years old	45-54 years old	55-64 years old	65 years and over
Syrian	3.75	2.45	3.03	1.95	1.30	0.45	0.12
Turkish	0.59	0.49	0.79	0.55	0.39	0.06	0.01
Eritrean	1.11	0.61	0.38	0.13	0.07	0.03	0.02
Yemeni	0.37	0.49	0.71	0.33	0.07	0.02	0.01

Following family member applicants

In 2023, just over 10 thousand following family member applicants moved to the Netherlands. Once they arrive in the Netherlands, these family members also receive a residence permit.

Most following family member applicants came from Syria, Turkey and Yemen. Just over half of them were women (6 out of 10), and a little fewer than half were under 18. Among following family member applicants from Syria and Yemen, 6 out of 10 were under 18.

Show datatableFollowing family members, largest nationalities (x 1,000)Hide datatableFollowing family members, largest nationalities (x 1,000)

Following family members, largest nationalities (x 1,000)

Jaar	Kwartaal	Syrian	Turkish	Yemeni	other
2020	Q1, 2020	0.32	0.02	0.08	0.66
2020	Q2, 2020	0.07	0.01	0.02	0.16
2020	Q3, 2020	0.36	0.17	0.06	0.29
2020	Q4, 2020	0.72	0.06	0.28	0.63
2021	Q1, 2021	0.77	0.18	0.20	0.37
2021	Q2, 2021	1.64	0.14	0.19	0.64
2021	Q3, 2021	1.79	0.27	0.12	0.61
2021	Q4, 2021	2.25	0.15	0.15	0.69
2022	Q1, 2022	1.75	0.14	0.10	0.59
2022	Q2, 2022	2.25	0.26	0.12	0.54
2022	Q3, 2022	2.48	0.49	0.11	0.58
2022	Q4, 2022	0.77	0.22	0.05	0.52
2023	Q1, 2023	1.09	0.27	0.08	0.47
2023	Q2, 2023	1.75	0.33	0.20	0.36
2023	Q3, 2023	1.75	0.30	0.31	0.25
2023	Q4, 2023	2.12	0.26	0.24	0.39
* provisional figures