Publication date: 18 July 2023
In its annual report 2022, Fedasil presents the main developments and statistics in the fields of reception, voluntary return and resettlement over the past year.
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Publication date: 20 January 2023
Most EMN Member and Observer Countries reported pressures and challenges in housing applicants for international protection between 2017 and 2021. This inform highlights the challenges encountered and best practices for responding to the emergency.
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Main theme: Reception
Publication Type: Informs
Keywords: housing, reception directive, buffer capacity, reception crisis
Publication date: 14 August 2014
This EMN Inform summarizes the key findings of the corresponding EMN study which aimed to identify good practices and mechanisms to allow for flexible and efficient reception facilities whilst maintaining the quality of reception conditions.
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Main theme: Reception
Publication Type: Informs
Keywords: reception centre, reception condition, reception crisis
Publication date: 06 September 2013
The purpose of this study was to provide an overview of the organisation of reception facilities for asylum seekers in the different Member States and to identify good practices and existing mechanisms for efficient and flexible reception facilities whilst ensuring quality.
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Main theme: Reception
Publication Type: Thematic Studies
Keywords: reception centre, reception crisis, reception law, reception policy
Publication date: 25 May 2011
The annual report of the Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (Fedasil) shows in chronology that in 2010 the crisis of the reception capacity for asylum seekers continued
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Publication date: 28 March 2011
(01/06/2010) Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (Fedasil) published its annual report 2009. 2009 was a difficult year, marked on the one hand by a considerable increase in asylum applications, on the other hand by a considerable growth of the reception capacity.
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Main theme: Reception
Publication Type: Report
Keywords: annual report, reception centre, reception crisis
Publication date:
On 13 November 2025, several civil society organisations held a silent protest outside the Palais de Justice in Brussels to draw attention to the shortage of reception places for third-country nationals. Participants, including advocates, volunteers, and citizens, brought sleeping bags to symbolise people forced to sleep outdoors. The demonstration called for urgent measures to ensure that all individuals entitled to accommodation can access it.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: reception crisis, reception capacity, reception place, shortage
Publication date:
On 30 September 2025, seven organisations, including humanitarian groups, published the fifth edition of their Belgian report on the country’s non-reception policy and its effects on asylum seekers. The report provides data on reduced access to accommodation and essential services during the first half of 2025, following policy changes introduced by the coalition government formed in January. It documents impacts on housing, healthcare, mental health, and legal support for people seeking international protection.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: reception crisis, reception capacity
Publication date:
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe examined the execution of the European Court of Human Rights judgment in Camara v. Belgium. The case highlighted a systemic failure to enforce judicial decisions ordering the State to provide accommodation and material support to asylum-seekers. While some progress has been made in freeing up reception places and improving operational support, concerns persist over reductions in capacity and the risk to the rule of law. The Committee urged the Belgian authorities to adopt sustainable measures and provide detailed information on enforcement.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: reception crisis, Camara, reception place, rule of law, reception network
Publication date:
In a judgment issued on 11 April 2025, the District Court of The Hague, sitting in Groningen, found that single, non-vulnerable male asylum seekers face a real risk of being deprived of adequate reception facilities in Belgium, which could lead to inhumane or degrading treatment. This ruling follows previous decisions by Dutch judges who determined that Dublin transfers to Belgium could not be carried out due to insufficient guarantees of proper accommodation.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: Dublin Regulation, reception condition, reception crisis, inhuman or degrading treatment, Article 3 ECHR
Publication date:
In a new report, Amnesty International urges the Belgian government to ensure that all people seeking asylum are given adequate housing and that they have access to adequate healthcare services, including specialised psychological support, regardless of their housing situation. Belgian authorities are also called to activate the "dispersal plan" outlined in domestic law and implement contingency plans to manage fluctuations in the number of asylum applications.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: reception crisis, reception capacity, housing, access to healthcare
Publication date:
The Minister for Asylum and Migration has decided to discontinue the Impuls Fund, which had been established to provide additional support to local authorities in covering the extra costs associated with opening new Local Reception Initiatives. The Minister will now move towards a more collective approach to reception, with existing Local Reception Initiatives being gradually phased out.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: reception crisis, local reception initiative, subsidy
Publication date:
In their report 2024, seven humanitarian and civil society organisations raise concerns over the Belgian government's plan to reduce reception places for applicants for international protection, warning that this measure could increase homelessness, negatively impact individuals' health and integration prospects, and generate significant hidden costs for society.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: reception crisis, homelessness
Publication date:
In the note submitted to the Chamber of Representatives, Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt described the current situation as operationally, financially, and socially untenable. She announced her intention to urgently submit, as an initial step, a package of crisis measures to address the ongoing asylum and reception crisis. Additionally, she outlined a broader range of measures covering key aspects, including asylum and reception, migration, the protection of vulnerable groups, return and security, the social welfare system, and access to Belgian nationality.
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Main theme: Asylum, Migration
Keywords: policy orientation paper, asylum policy, migration policy, asylum crisis, reception crisis
Publication date:
While Belgium continues to face a reception crisis, ongoing since the summer of 2021, the latest figures from Fedasil show that the number of places for asylum seekers made available by municipalities continues to decrease.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: local reception initiative, reception crisis, housing shortage
Publication date:
The Federal Institute for Human Rights launched an investigation into "the growing tendency of Belgian authorities not to implement court decisions that condemn them", inter alia regarding the reception of applicants for international protection. The report following the investigation will be sent to the Chamber of Representatives.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: reception crisis, court decision, non-compliance
Publication date:
In a statement from 19 September 2024, the Council of Europe notes that Belgium has taken steps to address the wider reception crisis (such as creating 3.500 additional reception places and accelerating the examination of certain asylum applications to free up existing reception places), but these measures are insufficient.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: reception crisis, accommodation, material assistance, judicial decision
Publication date:
Doctors Without Borders, Doctors of the World, CIRÉ, Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen, BelRefugees, Caritas International, and the Humanitarian Hub underline the permanent lack of reception, protection and access to medical services for applicants for international protection without a reception place. They want to challenge policy-makers and raise public awareness about people left left on the street.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: reception crisis, reception capacity
Publication date:
In its 2023 annual report, the Federal Institute for Human Rights draws attention, among other things, to the failure of the authorities to enforce the rulings of the Belgian and European courts and tribunals, in particular in the context of the reception crisis. The lack of resources for the judiciary, threats to human rights defenders and weaknesses in the right to information are also underlined.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: human rights, reception crisis, right to information
Publication date:
Given the strong pressure on the Belgian reception system, Fedasil created more than 3.000 places in 2023. Despite these efforts, Fedasil ran out of places to accommodate all applicants for international protection last year.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: reception centre, reception crisis, reception capacity
Publication date:
On the proposal of the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor, the Council of Ministers agreed today on the extension of support measures for the reception and support of asylum seekers in the Brussels-Capital Region. A total of 2000 places are now available for asylum seekers who cannot immediately get a place in the Fedasil reception network.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: homeless shelter, reception centre, reception crisis
Publication date:
The federal government has reached an agreement today on the 2024 budget. While 1.2 billion euros will improve the budget balance, 500 million euros will cover additional needs, including in the asylum and migration field.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: federal budget, reception crisis
Publication date:
Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor has decided to temporarily stop receiving single males in the national network for the reception of asylum seekers. Through this decision, the Secretary of State intends to anticipate “the growing influx of families and children to absolutely avoid children ending up on the streets in winter.”
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: reception crisis, reception centre, single male asylum seeker
Publication date:
In today’s Chamber judgment in the case of Camara v. Belgium, the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been a violation of Article 6 (right to a fair hearing) of the European Convention on Human Rights. It could not accept that the time taken by the Belgian authorities in the present case to enforce a court order aimed at protecting human dignity had been reasonable.
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Main theme: Reception
Keywords: European Court of Human Rights, right to a fair hearing, reception, reception crisis
Publication date:
From this Wednesday, the three organizations offer immediate hosting in a building located in Anderlecht to applicants who will later be referred to a reception center from Fedasil.