Overview
- CBS, which published the new IND-based figures Thursday, reported nearly 6,000 first-time asylum requests in Q1 2026, up 33% from a year earlier but 20% below Q4.
- About 1,100 applicants were registered with an “unknown nationality,” a category the IND says often covers people from Palestinian territories that the Netherlands does not recognize as a state.
- Applications by origin shifted: Sudan rose to 485 from 45 and Somalia to 360 from 145 year over year, while Syrian first requests fell to 530 yet still formed the second-largest group.
- Family reunifications reached 4,600, up 21% year over year, with roughly three quarters involving Syrians using the nareis rule that lets spouses and children join after a permit is granted.
- The population grew by about 10,000 in Q1 entirely due to migration, as immigration fell to 66,000 from 79,000 a year earlier and deaths outnumbered births.