# Netherlands must take in EU asylum seekers again or pay

> The European Commission says the Netherlands must again take in asylum seekers from other EU countries next year, or pay instead.

Migration · published 2026-11-06 18:21 · https://nlnow.nl/a/netherlands-must-take-over-asylum-seekers-from-eu-countries/

In a report presented on Friday, the European Commission said the Netherlands must take over asylum seekers from other EU countries next year too. It is the second time the redistribution of asylum seekers across the EU has been announced.

The Netherlands can choose to pay instead of taking them in, or contribute in another way to the countries that received above-average numbers of asylum seekers this year: Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Spain.

The Commission says Greece and Cyprus saw high numbers of asylum applications. It says Italy is under migratory pressure because a disproportionate number of people arrive there after search and rescue operations at sea.

Figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS), the national statistics office, show 2,100 people made a first asylum application in the Netherlands in September 2026, down from 2,700 in September 2025.

**First asylum applications are lower than a year ago** (people; source: CBS)

- Sep 2025: 2700
- Oct 2025: 2470
- Nov 2025: 2485
- Dec 2025: 2570
- Jan 2026: 2070
- Feb 2026: 1960
- Mar 2026: 1965
- Apr 2026: 2105
- May 2026: 2145
- Jun 2026: 1810
- Jul 2026: 1920
- Aug 2026: 1845
- Sep 2026: 2100

## Background

- **CBS (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek)**: Statistics Netherlands, the independent government body that produces the official statistics on the Dutch economy and society.

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