COA calls for more consistent funding to cut asylum costs

The costs of housing asylum seekers in the Netherlands could be slashed with more stable and long-term funding, according to refugee settlement agency COA.

The lack of dependable financing has made the asylum system unnecessarily expensive, vulnerable and inefficient, the COA said in a new report, outlining daily challenges within the system.

“Stability and calm are essential for residents, staff and local councils,” said board member Joeri Kapteijns. “To achieve that, we need more than the law to spread refugees around the country, we need proper financing. We’re not asking for more money, but to spend less overall.”

The agency is currently providing accommodation for some 72,000 people in 99 regular and 211 emergency shelters, including sports halls and tents.

COA says the cost of ordinary accommodation works out at €30,500 per person per year, but rises to nearly €70,000 for temporary and emergency housing. A stable supply of housing would knock around €1 billion off the annual budget for refugee housing, the agency calculates.

COA is now calling for multi-year funding that would allow it to create a core of stable reception places. These locations could also be used by people other than refugees who need housing, when the flow of new asylum seekers is lower.

Despite earlier agreements, stable funding has still not been included in the national budget, the COA said. This makes it difficult to make long-term arrangements with councils, forcing continued reliance on emergency shelters.

“That harms residents, especially children, who are forced to move too often because of temporary accommodation,” the agency said.

The COA has asked the government to include structural funding for asylum reception in the next budget.