The Dutch immigration service had to pay €36.8 million in compensation to refugees last year because it failed to assess their cases within the legal time frame.

In 2023, the total fines amounted to €11.3 million.

“Even though the IND processed more applications than in previous years, we still could not keep up,” the service said in a statement. Around 75,000 people are currently waiting for a decision, and the average waiting time has increased from 70 to 84 weeks.

Asylum seekers receive €100 per day if the IND takes longer than 15 months to decide their case, up to a maximum of €7,500. The current government wants to abolish the fines altogether.

Fewer refugees

Last year, 32,180 people made their first application for refugee status in the Netherlands, a decrease compared to both 2023 and 2022.

At the same time, the number of people applying to become Dutch citizens through the naturalisation process rose by over 10,000 to 54,780 last year, with Syrians, Indians, and Turkish nationals leading the list of new Dutch citizens.