Junior justice minister Fred Teeven will not find temporary accommodation in or around Amsterdam for a group of homeless illegal asylum seekers, he said on Thursday.

The group, estimated at 200 people, has exhausted all the legal procedures for staying in the Netherlands.

They were living in an empty block of flats in the city until they were ordered to leave at the end of September. They have now taken refuge in a church.

Amsterdam council asked Teeven to find official accommodation for the group to avoid the need to put them in private accommodation which the council will have to pay for, the Parool reports.

However, Teeven says there is no problem in using private accommodation as long as the asylum seekers have health problems.

Amsterdam mayor Eberhard van der Laan hopes local churches will continue to offer a home to the group and says he will support them if they do.