Netherlands looks to send asylum seekers to Kenya and Rwanda

The Netherlands is planning to use Kenya as a country to hold rejected asylum seekers in so-called “return hubs”, according to RTL Nieuws, with Rwanda and Benin also named as possible options.

The plans are currently being discussed by diplomats, RTL reported, citing unnamed sources. The cabinet would not confirm which countries it is talking to, saying only that “given the diplomatic confidentiality of this process, the cabinet cannot comment on the partners being considered”.

A return hub is a centre in a country outside the EU where people whose asylum claim has been rejected are sent to wait before being returned to their country of origin. The Netherlands is pursuing the idea along with Germany, Austria, Denmark and Greece.

Kenya is considered the most likely choice because it is relatively wealthy and stable, RTL said. There are human rights concerns in Rwanda, and talks with Benin haven’t yet started.

EU papers also mention Uzbekistan and Ghana, though the status of those contacts is unclear. Ministers are due to be briefed shortly, with a final decision aimed at before the end of the year.

Shift from Uganda
The search marks a move away from Uganda, which the previous government signed a deal with in September 2025 to set up a transit hub for rejected asylum seekers, but RTL said the cabinet had put those talks “on hold” after elections led to instability there.

Return hubs are the last and most contested element of the EU’s migration pact, most of which became law on June 12.

The European Commission’s original proposal said only people with a final expulsion order could be sent, and ruled out transferring families with children – a limit the Dutch cabinet has publicly opposed.

Rwanda is also the country the UK chose for its own offshore asylum scheme, which was scrapped in 2024 after a series of legal challenges.