Refugee agency closes emergency centres as fewer asylum seekers arrive in NL
See more DutchNews articles in your Google search results
See more DutchNews articles in your Google search results
Add as a favourite source on Google Add DutchNews as a favourite source on Google
The refugee settlement agency COA is closing 15 emergency locations in the next few weeks because of a falling number of new arrivals.
The organisation is also shedding temporary staff and putting plans for new settlement centres on ice, director Gerard Bakker told the Telegraaf in an interview.
The flow of asylum seekers is constantly shifting and demands a great deal of flexibility to cope with, Bakker said.
More people can also be transferred from temporary centres to permanent ones with better facilities while their cases are being assessed, he said.
The number of new and repeat asylum requests plus the arrival of family members has now fallen to between 500 and 600 a week, according to justice ministry figures.
Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.
We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.
Make a donation