Asylum applications in the Netherlands have dropped to their lowest level on record in early 2025, following the collapse of the Syrian regime led by Bashar Al-Assad.
Official figures released this week show a sharp decline in people seeking refuge, particularly from Syria.
In the first three months of the year, just over 4,500 people applied for asylum in the Netherlands. That figure marks a 37% decrease from the previous quarter and a 50% drop compared to the same time last year. The data, provided by Statistics Netherlands and reported by the NL Times, points to the dramatic political changes in Syria as a key factor behind the trend.
Syrian nationals, who have long formed the largest group of asylum seekers in the Netherlands, now make up just 21% of applicants. Only 900 Syrians submitted asylum claims this quarter—down from nearly 3,000 a year ago. This steep drop coincides with the fall of Assad’s government in December, when the longtime Syrian leader fled to Russia, bringing an end to the Baath Party’s six-decade rule.
While overall asylum numbers are falling, applications for family reunification have gone up. The Netherlands received 3,700 of these requests in the first quarter, a 14% rise compared to a year earlier. More than 80% of these were filed by Syrians, suggesting that many are now focused on reuniting with relatives already living in the country rather than fleeing new conflict.
Demographic data shows that most of those applying for asylum were men under the age of 35, and about one in four applicants were children.
The figures signal a shift in the Dutch asylum landscape after years of high inflows driven by the Syrian civil war. With Assad no longer in power and violence in the country easing, the need to flee may be less urgent for many Syrians. However, the rise in family reunification suggests that long-term settlement and stability remain key goals for many refugees already in Europe.