The number of applications for residence permits continues to rise and exceeds the capacity of the IND

Waiting times increase further

The number of applications is expected to rise further in the coming years. Moreover, this does not make the work of the IND easier. Increasingly more substantiation is needed for decisions on applications for residence permits. Notwithstanding that the IND does more than can be expected of the organisation on the basis of the agreed capacity, the waiting times for asylum applicants will increase further.

Explanatory notes to the figures

Henceforth, the IND will publish current figures each month on developments in the work, looking back on the past 13 months. 

Applications for asylum and journeys in connection with family reunification

In March 2023 the number of asylum applications rose substantially (by 3,540) compared to a month earlier (2,130). This concerns people who do not come from a safe country, have legal residence in another European country or for whom a different EU country is responsible (Dublin). 
It can be seen from the outstanding applications that in 2,810 cases the IND did not decide within the extended statutory decision period of fifteen months. 
The number of decisions on journeys in connection with family reunification is also running behind the number of new applications. In March 2023, 2,030 new applications were submitted for journeys in connection with family reunification (excl. 8 ECHR). Although the IND is equipped for taking 620 decisions on journeys in connection with family reunification in March decisions were taken on almost double that number of cases (1,110). 

Residence permits for family, relatives, knowledge and talent

The number of applications for residence permits for family members and relatives increased last month compared to February: 4,160 compared to 3,770. In both months the number of decisions was a bit lower than the number of applications: 4,030 and 3,370 decisions. The peak for knowledge and talent is in the summer. Last month there were 2,380 applications and 2,220 decisions. 

Issuing residence documents and taking biometrics

Residence documents are issued and biometrics taken by appointment at an IND desk. The number of residence documents issued has increased since September 2022. There were 26,999 in March 2023. The time until an appointment at a desk has nevertheless become considerably shorter in the past few months. In March this was five days on average for documents and seven days for biometrics. This is due to extra desk staff members and longer opening hours. The same trend can be seen in the taking of biometrics. 

Asylum trends

The IND has been publishing asylum trends for a longer time with figures on the number of asylum applications, persons journeying in connection with family reunification, unaccompanied minor foreign nationals (UMFN) and countries of origin. These publications will henceforth appear with monthly figures, without an extra accompanying news report. 
Link to the page containing the report.