The number of refugees and their families coming to the Netherlands rose to 1,400 in the third quarter of the year, up around 400 on the April to June period, according to new figures from national statistics agency CBS.

In total 5,900 asylum seekers came to the Netherlands between July and September, a rise of 700 on the previous quarter but down 300 year on year.

The biggest increase was in the number of family members travelling to the Netherlands to join people already here. They accounted for 1,200 of the total.

More people also came from Eritrea, Turkey and Algeria, while refugee numbers from Nigeria and Iran went down.

According to the refugee resettlement agency COA, reception centres are now full and the number of people currently living in COA accommodation has reached nearly 27,000.

The 2,000 reserve places set aside for emergencies are also fully used, spokesman Werner van Bastelaar told website Nu.nl.

Housing

Aside from the rise in refugee numbers, the shortage of housing in general means 5,500 people with residency permits are living in centres when they should have moved on to a regular home.

Not all Dutch local authorities cooperate with efforts to prioritise refugee housing needs, Van Bastelaar told the website.

The IND immigration service is also short of staff and the length of time people are waiting to have their applications processed has risen to 46 weeks for more complicated cases.