The IND in figures

The number of applications for residence permits has already been increasing for a longer time. And this is expected to increase even more in the years to come. Moreover this does not make the work of the IND easier. Increasingly more substantiation is needed to decide on a residence application. Notwithstanding that the IND does more than can be expected of the organisation on the basis of the agreed capacity, the number of cases that have been outstanding for a long time is increasing.

Each month the IND publishes a survey of the main current figures and developments.

Monthly figures April 2025

Asylum: First asylum applications

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In April, the IND completed 1,610 asylum applications. That is fewer than the planned 3,340. The number of new applications increased from 1,310 to 1,520. By comparison, the IND received 2,880 applications in April 2024. The number of open applications decreased slightly, from 45,050 to 44,970.

Asylum: Dublin procedure (track 1)

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In April, the IND processed 310 applications in the Dublin procedure. Although that is fewer than planned (580), the IND did take more decisions than it received applications (250). As a result, the number of open applications further decreases from 890 to 830. The number of decisions thus increasingly matches the number of applications.

Asylum: Safe Country procedure (Track 2)

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In April, the IND completed 40 cases in the safe country procedure. That was fewer than planned (190). This is due to a decrease in the number of new cases. 20 applications were received in April. The number of open applications decreased to 140.

Asylum: General and extended asylum procedure (Track 4)

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The IND took decisions in 1,960 cases in the general and extended asylum procedure. That is fewer than planned (3,220). This is because the IND is handling more complex cases, partly because of the freeze on decisions on Syrian applications. Because more new applications were received (2,170), the number of open applications increased from 50,540 to 50,750.

Asylum: Family members who have joined the asylum seekers later

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For the second consecutive month, with 2,650 completed files, the IND fulfilled the assignment for cases concerning travel to the Netherlands in connection with family reunification. That is 330 more than planned. The expansion of capacity appears to be yielding results. The number of new applications decreased from 1,160 to 1,010. The IND received 4,070 applications in April 2024. The total number of open applications decreased from 64,850 to 63,210. That is the lowest number since August 2024 (61,460).

Family and relatives

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The number of decisions for relatives and family was 3,200 in the fourth month of 2025. The number of new applications totalled 3,160. In April there were 5,860 open applications, of which 3,720 were shorter than 3 months.

Residence permit knowledge and talent

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The IND processed 1,480 applications in this procedure. 1,440 new applications were received in April. This category includes highly skilled migrants, graduates with a job-seeking year and employees transferred within international companies.

Study

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In April, the IND completed 80 applications for a study programme and received 120 requests. The peak is in summer and December. The IND takes this into account and can decide on these applications in a short time during busy periods.

Migrant workers

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In April, the number of decisions on applications from migrant workers was 510. A total of 390 applications were submitted. These include paid employment, as a self-employed person or at a start-up, cross-border service provision and applications based on the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty.

Naturalization

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In April, the IND decided on 4,870 naturalisation applications. In total, 4,420 people applied for Dutch nationality.

Service desk

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In April, applicants made 21,800 appointments for collecting documents from the desks. The average wait time was 2 days. The number of appointments for providing biometrics (fingerprints and photos) was 17,890. The first appointment opportunity for this was also 2 days on average.