More than 13,000 asylum seekers and refugees face registration delays

There are increasing backlogs in registering asylum-seekers and refugees with residency status in the BRP, the database that municipalities use to manage private records. A little over a year later, the backlog has grown from about 2,330 to over 13,400. Secretary of State for Refugees Eric van der Berg said in a letter to Tweed Kammer on Tuesday that the majority (more than 12,000) are asylum seekers who have been in the Netherlands for more than six months. said.

Asylum seekers and refugees cannot receive a Civil Service Number (BSN) unless they are registered in the population registry. This means that you cannot open a bank account or qualify for other essential services. Without a Citizen Service Number, you cannot work, and securing housing becomes even more difficult.

The backlog that started during the coronavirus pandemic is only growing. “An undesirable situation,” the Secretary of State wrote. Five depots set up specifically for refugees and asylum seekers to register with the BRP were partially closed during the pandemic, but are now operating at full capacity again.

In the letter, Mr van der Berg noted that the “current influx of asylum-seekers” and the subsequent higher-than-expected number of families joining asylum-seekers put pressure on immigration chains as well as BRP registration sites. also increased, he said. He also reported to Congress on behalf of Interior Secretary Alexandra van Haffelen.

They are currently looking at how the capacity of the special BRP registration site can be increased and how the process can be improved. In addition, it is being investigated whether refugees and asylum seekers can register with her BRP in more municipalities or in all municipalities.

“This could significantly reduce the unregistration of the aforementioned 13,440 asylum seekers and residence permit holders waiting to be registered.”