Processing times asylum procedure

​Please note: the processing times may be longer due to the measures against corona. Please check ind.nl/en/coronavirus for the latest information.

Do you want to know when the IND is processing your asylum application? On the right you can read the latest information about asylum applications under 'more information'.

The IND must decide within 6 months

According to the law, the IND must take a decision on your asylum application within 6 months. This is called the legal decision period. In some cases we extend the legal decision period to 15 months. for example if more research it is needed. When someone receives a decision varies per application. We explain why this is on this page.

The processing time differs per application

After signing your asylum request you will have a reporting interview. The IND will ask you questions about yourself and your journey. After that we carry out some research to assess what your chances are of being granted asylum. The result of this determines which steps you will follow in the asylum procedure: the asylum 'track'. The track within which the IND processes your application determines the processing time. Because there are different asylum tracks, the processing time also differs for every application.

The IND currently has 3 asylum tracks

• Track 1: Asylum applications which should be handled by another European country fall under this track. For example where someone previously applied for asylum in another European country. Asylum seekers falling under this track have little chance of being granted asylum in the Netherlands.
• Track 2: Asylum seekers coming from safe countries of origin fall under this track. Or asylum seekers who have already received international protection in another European country. Such asylum seekers have very little chance of being granted asylum in the Netherlands.
• Track 4 : This is the 8-day General Asylum procedure (GA, or AA in Dutch). Asylum seekers who have a good chance of admission to the Netherlands fall under this track. Is more time needed to make a careful decision on an asylum application? Then the IND processes the asylum application under the Extended Asylum procedure (EA, or VA in Dutch).

Tracks 3 and 5 also exist but are not currently in effect.

The IND made a letter about processing times

As of spring 2019, every asylum seeker with a good chance of admission receives a letter from the IND after the reporting interview. This letter contains information about the processing times in the asylum procedure. This letter is also available in English, Arabic, Farsi, Turkish and Tigrinya (see right).

Did you submit an asylum application in the week of 22 April 2019 or three months or more ago, and is your application still being processed? The IND exceptionally sent such a letter regarding processing times to your legal representative. This letter also states that you are waiting for an interview with the IND. However, this does not apply if the IND has already made a (preliminary) decision regarding your asylum application.

Applications with little chance of success are processed first

For asylum applications in Track 1 or Track 2, it is clear that there is little chance of asylum being granted. For this reason, the IND tries to take a decision regarding these asylum applications as quickly as possible. In this way, sufficient places remain available in the reception centres for asylum seekers with a higher chance of receiving a residence permit. For this reason, the processing time for Tracks 1 and 2 is shorter than for Track 4.

The IND would like to reduce the processing time for Track 4

The processing time for Track 4 is currently too long. The IND apologises that as a result you have to wait for a long time. We have introduced various solutions to ensure that you do not have to wait so long. One solution has been to take on more staff. However, this alone is not enough. Therefore, the IND is going to speed up the process for a large group of asylum seekers.

One large group will have 2 interviews in 1 day

During the General Asylum procedure (Track 4), you usually have 2 conversations (interviews) with the IND. The first conversation with the IND (initial interview) is usually on Day 1 of the process. On day 3, you have the second conversation with the IND (detailed interview). To speed up the process, certain groups of asylum seekers will have the initial interview and the detailed interview on Day 1. This will be the case from January 2020 up to and including June 2020.

The new process concerns stateless people from Syria and people with the following nationality:

• Syrian;
  
  

• Yemeni;
  
  

• Turkish.

This shorter General Asylum procedure (Algemene Asielprocedure or AA) only applies to people who have applied for asylum before 1 January 2020.

The IND can process more applications a result of the shorter process

The IND believes that this solution will reduce the processing times for Track 4. Ultimately, this shorter process will also have a positive effect on applications from people with other nationalities. You can find out more about the shorter process on the page 'Frequently asked questions about the General Asylum procedure'. See the link in the right column on this page.

Average processing time per asylum track

The IND is not able to tell every customer how long the procedure will take. That is why we show below the average processing times for every asylum track from the past. The table also shows the percentage of taken decisions within the legal decision time. These data come from the IND's information system. We  regularly update the information on this website.

Processing time data

At the moment no up-to-date data is available for processing times. This is as a result of measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Please turn your phone horizontally to see the table with data for 2019 correctly.