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Netherlands sees record number of asylum seekers in Sept.

Xinhua, October 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

A record number of 8,405 asylum seekers, mostly Syrians, registered in the Netherlands in September, the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) stated on Wednesday.

The amount in September marked a rise of 21 percent compared to August, which was a record 6,970.

Since the start of the statistics in 1975, the monthly influx has not been so high. Until last August, the record was May 1999, when the Netherlands received 5,200 applications for asylum, mainly from people from the former Yugoslavia.

Among the 8,405 asylum seekers in September were 1,965 people who traveled to the Netherlands to be reunited with relatives already living here. In total, 5,200 people from Syria and 920 Eritreans applied, forming the two biggest groups.

The total number of registered asylum seekers in the first nine months of this year was 33,790, of which 23,490 were first applications and 10,300 followers of relatives. Altogether 16,600 Syrians registered in the Netherlands.

The influx of asylum seekers has not dipped, with approximately 2,200 asylum seekers applying for asylum in the Netherlands from Oct. 12 to 18. In the past weeks, the weekly influx has varied from 2,200 to 4,200, while approximately 500 former asylum seekers with a residence permit have moved on from centers of the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) to housing facilities in municipalities per week.

With hundreds of refugees still reaching the Netherlands every day the reception centers have almost reached the limits of their capacity. Two weeks ago, the Dutch government concluded agreements with the provinces and municipalities to make an extra effort to transfer asylum seekers with a residence permit, who are currently unnecessarily staying in a reception center waiting for a new home, to municipalities.

The municipalities plan to accommodate 10,000 asylum seekers with residence permits in temporary housing facilities in the next six months. In addition, the provinces agreed to set up large-scale emergency reception facilities such as in Heumensoord near Nijmegen in the province of Gelderland, where 3,000 refugees are received. Endit