The Netherlands, explained in English · Friday 30 October 2026Fri 30 Oct

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Migration

Rotterdam offers 2,465 reception places on land

Alderman Joan Nunnely offers 2,465 reception places on land to comply with the distribution law, most of them for recognised refugees waiting for a home.

Rotterdam's city board wants to stop housing asylum seekers and refugees granted a residence permit on ships such as the Silja. In a letter to the city council, alderman Joan Nunnely (D66) offers 2,465 reception places to comply with the Spreidingswet, the distribution law.

The Silja houses status holders (statushouders), recognised asylum seekers. The places must be available for a year and a half, from July next year until the end of 2028. According to Nunnely's letter, the leases on the Silja and the other ships expire at the end of January 2028.

Nunnely's letter proposes 1,845 of the places for status holders

Places

Status holdersStatus holders: 1,8451,845Asylum seekers in procedureAsylum seekers in procedure: 461461Unaccompanied minorsUnaccompanied minors: 157157

Nunnely's letter proposes 1,845 of the places for status holders (places). Highest: Status holders, 1,845; lowest: Unaccompanied minors, 157; 3 items. Source: Rotterdam alderman Joan Nunnely, letter to the city council.

View data
Data: Nunnely's letter proposes 1,845 of the places for status holders
ItemPlaces
Status holders1,845
Asylum seekers in procedure461
Unaccompanied minors157
Source: Rotterdam alderman Joan Nunnely, letter to the city council | NLnow graphic

The city does not plan to take in 2,465 asylum seekers. It wants roughly the same 80-20 ratio of status holders to asylum applicants as in recent years. Nunnely also wants to take in more unaccompanied minors in the coming years.

Nunnely hopes the national government and the COA, the asylum seekers' reception agency, will agree and again grant Rotterdam an exception to the distribution law, as in recent years.