A new reception centre has just opened in Alveringem (West Flanders). The building already served as a Local Reception Initiative for asylum seekers and this reception was managed successfully by the Public centre for social welfare. Fedasil now takes over the management of the building to receive resettled refugees.

Resettlement is a programme run by the UNHCR where refugees are transferred from a country where they have sought protection to another country (in this case, Belgium) which agrees to receive them as refugees. This differs from the situation of asylum seekers who must carry out their procedure for international protection in Belgium. Over the period 2013-2022, Belgium resettled 4,501 refugees through the UNHCR. 

The center in Alveringem will accommodate 115 refugees. The resettled refugees will only stay for a few months in the reception centre.

For further information, please read the press release from Fedasil (in French or in Dutch), and visit the webpage of the reception center in Alveringem as well as its Facebook page.