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Processing times asylum: how long will my procedure take?

​You have applied for asylum and your asylum procedure has not started yet. You would like to know how long it will take before you receive a decision. The time between signing your asylum application and receiving the decision from the IND is called the processing time.

Latest update: 10 May 2021

N.B. The processing times may be longer due to the measures against the coronavirus. Please check ind.nl/en/coronavirus for the latest 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.

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.

Measures 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. The IND is taking the following measures to reduce the processing time for track 4:

More staff and tailor-made deployment 
In 2019 and 2020 the IND hired additional support staff to be able to handle more asylum applications. For 2021 the IND is also planning to hire more support staff. The staff involved are being employed on a temporary basis through employment agencies. Some employees are also being  transferred from other organisations with the Dutch government.

In addition to this the IND is placing staff in a tailor-made way. This means  placing by target group: applications are handled by employees with the relevant expertise. In this way, experienced employees can handle complex applications and less experienced staff simpler ones.

Shortened asylum procedure for a certain group of asylum seekers

For the purpose of speeding up the General Asylum procedure (GA or AA in Dutch, track 4) certain groups of asylum seekers will have 2 interviews on 1 day. This concerns the initial as well as the detailed interview on day 1 of the procedure. Normally, you have the initial interview on day 1 of the GA and the detailed interview on day 3. 

The shortened GA applies to you if you belong to one of the following groups:
  • you are stateless and come from Syria; or
  • you have Syrian nationality; or
  • you have Yemeni nationality; or
  • you have Turkish nationality.

The shortened asylum procedure will eventually speed up the GA procedure for other asylum seekers as well. Under More information you can read Q&As about the shortened asylum procedure. There is also general information in different languages. 

More ways of performing our work

The IND is also shortening the processing times by performing our work in more ways. For example, the IND can interview you in person at the office or by video. If you are interviewed by video, you will talk to an employee from the IND via video-conferencing from your own COA location. A written interview is also possible. 

Task Force: making up the backlog of older asylum applications

The Task Force (TF) is an IND programme. The TF is helping the IND to process a backlog of older asylum applications. This backlog consists of applications submitted before 1 April 2020. In this way other employees with the IND can focus on handling asylum applications submitted on or after 1 April 2020. 

Expired ID document for foreign nationals? Apply for a new one

Your identity document for foreign nationals (VI) could expire while you are waiting for your asylum application to be processed. The VI is previously known as a W-document. Has your VI expired or is it about to expire? Then apply for a new document by choosing one of these ways:

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. These figures apply to first applications. 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

The processing times for 2021 are below. You can see the processing times for 2020 and 2019 in our archive at the bottom of this page.

The processing times for 2020 and 2021 have been calculated differently than the figures for 2019. The processing times for 2019 are an average of the figures up to and including a certain month. The processing times for 2020 and 2021 are an average of the figures of the previous 4 months.

Please turn your phone horizontally to see the table with data for 2021 correctly.

2021 Processing times Asylum track 1

Processing time in weeks

Percentage taken decisions  within decision period

​January
​13 weeks
​not applicable
​February
​13 weeks
​not applicable
​March
​13 weeks
​not applicable
​April
​13 weeks
​not applicable

2021 Processing times Asylum track 2

Processing time in weeks

Percentage taken decisions within decision period

​January
​7 weeks
​96%
​February
​8 weeks
​95%
​March
​8 weeks
​95%
​April
​9 weeks
​96%

2021 Processing times Asylum track 4 General Asylum procedure (GA)

Processing time in weeks

Percentage taken decisions within decision period

​January
​38 weeks
​67%
​February
​41 weeks
​63%
​March
​45 weeks
​55%
​April
​50 weeks
​48%

2021 Processing times Asylum track 4 Extended Asylum procedure (EA)

Processing time in weeks

Percentage taken decisions within decision period

​January
​56 weeks
​39%
​February
​59 weeks
​38%
​March
​61 weeks
​33%
​April
​67 weeks
​22%


Archive

2019

- ​Processing times and taken decisions on time asylum for 2019

2020

​- Processing times and taken decisions on time per asylum track for 2020