Several Dutch judges have refused to send single male asylum seekers from the Netherlands back to Belgium to have their applications processed, according to a report by Belgian magazine Knack.

At least four court decisions under the Dublin safe third country regulations are involved, the magazine said.

Under the Dublin rules, asylum seekers are supposed to apply in the first EU country they arrive in, which in these cases was Belgium. But Knack said the Dutch courts have cited concerns about the conditions in Belgian reception facilities and the lack of beds.

One case concerns a Georgian national who was not returned to Belgium because Dutch officials said he could end up homeless, Knack said.

In 2023 Belgium said it would only provide housing for women, children and families because of the shortage of accommodation. Single men go on a waiting list for a bed.

The decision not to return the men is surprising, given that last year the Council of State – the highest Dutch administrative court – said the Netherlands can send asylum seekers back to Belgium if it was the first EU country they came to.

The Council of State said that asylum seekers would not be treated in ways that contravened their human rights once back in Belgium. The case was brought on behalf of an asylum seeker from Angola who arrived in Europe in Belgium but claimed asylum first in the Netherlands.

Single male refugees can make use of homeless shelters, as well as legal and medical help, and the authorities are doing their best to organise new accommodation, the court said.

In other words, the situation in Belgium is not so serious that the Netherlands should not return people to that country to make a claim there.