Official statistics, latest month August 2026

Migration in numbers

Fewer people are making a first asylum request, more are joining family already here, and most newcomers from outside Europe come for family, work or study. What the official statistics show.

Sources

CBS, asylum applications and family reunification (table 83102NED)

CBS, non-EU immigrants by reason for migration (table 84809NED)

Miljoenennota 2027, Ministerie van Financiën

Last updated 7 October 2026. CBS publishes new asylum figures every month; we update this page when they appear.

NLnow newsroom

24,075

first asylum applications in 2025, down from 38,375 in 2023

16,495

family members who joined a refugee in 2025 (nareizigers), up from 10,125

23%

share of non-EU newcomers in 2025 who came through asylum

€8bn → €5bn

planned asylum and migration spending, 2026 to 2031

Asylum

First applications fall while family reunification rises

People, 2023 and 2025

Source: CBS

Monthly first applications have hovered around 2,000 since mid-2025

First asylum applications per month

January 2025 to August 2026. Source: CBS

Syrians and Eritreans made the most first applications in 2025

First asylum applications in 2025, by nationality

Of 24,075 first applications in 2025. Source: CBS

Why people come

Family is the most common reason non-EU newcomers come

Immigrants from outside the EU/EFTA in 2025, by reason

Total 152,115 people in their first year of stay. Migrants from EU and EFTA countries, who need no permit, are not in these figures. Source: CBS

The money

The government plans asylum and migration spending to fall from about €8 billion in 2026 to about €5 billion from 2031, as funding for displaced people from Ukraine winds down and the extra money for emergency reception by COA drops from €1.2 billion in 2026 to zero from 2030. More in The 2027 Dutch budget, explained.

The words you will hear

Eerste asielverzoek: A first asylum application: the first request for protection a person makes in the Netherlands. Repeat applications are counted separately.
Nareizigers: Family members, usually partners and children, who join a person who has been granted asylum here.
COA: The Centraal Orgaan opvang asielzoekers, the agency that houses asylum seekers while their applications are processed.
IND: The Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst, which decides on asylum, residence permits and Dutch citizenship.

Latest migration news: Migration · Background: COA, Spreidingswet