The number of asylum applications in the Netherlands has increased rapidly in recent weeks. Significantly more asylum seekers are arriving than in this period last year, according to the weekly figures from the Ministry of Justice and Security.
Last week, around 1,500 people applied for asylum in the Netherlands. These are not only new applications, but also, for example, following travelers, i.e. family members of people who have already been granted asylum. The last time so many people applied for asylum in one week was early September last year.
In the weeks before, the inflow was also higher than last year. In the past three weeks, 4,300 people have applied for asylum, compared to 3,400 in the same weeks last year. The total number of asylum applications started to lag somewhat behind last year in the summer, but that difference has now virtually evaporated.
Since the beginning of this year, the Netherlands has received 38,500 asylum applications. Last year around this time the counter stood at 39,500 applications.