Increase in Processed Residency and Citizenship Applications Seen in Netherlands in 2023

The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) has reported that the number of processed applications for residency and citizenship in 2023 was higher than the previous year. Due to the increased requests, applicants often faced long wait times.

Last year, the number of legal proceedings for residents doubled compared to 2022 and the number of appointments at the desks also surged. However, the percentage of applications granted in the general and extended asylum process declined from 78 per cent in 2022 to 62 per cent in 2023. The number of processed asylum applications also increased, with nearly 35,000 asylum applications being processed in 2023.

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As a result of the high number of applications, nearly 50,000 asylum requests were waiting for a decision from the IND at the end of last year. In response to the increasing number of applications, the Director-General of the IND, Rhodia Maas, stated that the IND is making improvements where possible and has grown to more than 6 thousand staff members.

The IND also paid €11.3 million in incremental penalties for notices of default and appeals that were not decided in time. The statutory decision period for asylum requests was further extended to 15 months due to the high number of notices of default received.

Despite the challenges, the number of appointments at desks and the number of residence permits issued increased in 2023. However, there were fewer applications for knowledge migration and family migration compared to the previous year. Additionally, 22,000 regular objection cases were still awaiting a decision by the end of last year.

Director-General Rhodia Maas emphasized the IND’s commitment to making careful and timely decisions on residency in the Netherlands, and noted that the courts have upheld more than 80 per cent of their decisions. The challenge going forward is to process an increasingly large number of applications carefully and more quickly.