Explanation of the asylum application acceptance rate

1. How does the acceptance rate come about?

The acceptance rate relates to the number of approvals compared to the total number of applications on which the IND has decided. The higher the acceptance rate, the greater the number of applicants who are proportionally entitled to protection and a residence permit. 

2. What is the acceptance rate in the Netherlands? 

The acceptance rate fluctuates because it depends on a number of factors, such as the number of asylum seekers who come to the Netherlands from certain countries. If a war is going on somewhere, this may result in more people from that country fleeing to the Netherlands. This was the case during the war in Syria where the conflict meant that almost no one in that country was safe anymore from the violence and, as a result, a large number of applicants were granted asylum. The fact that a large group was involved led to an increase in the acceptance rate. The current number of approvals and rejections can be found at Rijksoverheid.nl: What are the current asylum and migration figures? | Rijksoverheid.nl  (only available in Dutch).

3. What sort of things is the acceptance rate affected by?

The nationality of the people seeking asylum in the Netherlands plays a certain role, as does the situation in the countries they come from. The IND’s assessment also takes account of the so-called country policy that exists in the Netherlands. If large numbers of people apply for asylum and these people come from a country or belong to a group which means that they are very likely to be granted asylum in accordance with the country policy, this will affect the acceptance rate. The moment the country policy changes in such a way that people who have a particular nationality or belong to a particular group are less likely to be granted asylum, the acceptance rate will be expected to decline. 

That happened in the case of Syria, for example, after the fall of the Assad regime. A decision and departure moratorium was imposed on Syrian cases at the end of 2024, but the IND started processing these cases again in June 2025. While applications by Syrian asylum seekers were likely to be granted on the basis of the country policy in the past, this is currently no longer the case. 

4. Does the IND have any control over the acceptance rate?

The IND is unable to influence or exert any control on the rate. As far as the IND is concerned, the acceptance rate in itself is irrelevant. All that matters to the IND is that a decision is taken correctly and as quickly as possible. The IND’s task is to implement the policy and - depending on the type of case, the situation in the country of origin and individual circumstances - reach a decision, which may result in  an approval or a rejection. 

5. Is the acceptance rate in the Netherlands different to that in other European countries?

The acceptance rate in the Netherlands is sometimes compared with rates in other countries. In 2023, for example, the Dutch acceptance rates were a politically hot item because they were high compared to other EU countries. 

The postponing of a motion in parliament led to an investigation into the reasons for this difference. It then transpired that, for example during the investigated period, the Netherlands received large numbers of asylum applications from people who had nationalities or belonged to groups which were likely to be accepted. Another factor was that these types of applications were not being registered in the same way in all countries and that made it difficult to compare the figures.  

From that point onwards the IND started changing the way it assessed asylum applications. These changes have affected the way the credibility of an asylum seeker’s story and its severity are assessed. The ‘credibility assessment’ is the basis for granting or rejecting an asylum application. If the narrative is found to be credible, the IND then assesses whether this also provides grounds for protection in the Netherlands. This is referred to as the severity. The changes made now ensure that the IND assessments are more in line with European regulations and the practices of other member states. 

The acceptance rate was also affected by changes in policy in 2024 which concerned, among other things, key elements of the country policies for Yemen, Turkey and Iraq.