Asylum · Belgium
Asylum in Belgium
Applications for international protection, decisions, protection rate, reception network, voluntary returns, unaccompanied minors and age tests, based solely on official publications: CGRS, Immigration Office, Fedasil, Guardianship Service, Eurostat. Each figure links to its official source document. No figures by municipality.
Latest month published by the CGRS: September 2026, 2 071 applications. PDF
Unaccompanied minors: from January to September 2026, 684 asylum applicants said they were minors without parents when they applied. The CGRS states that 163 of them were later considered adults. PDF CGRA, p. 7
Asylum applications per month since 2008 (Eurostat)
Source : Eurostat, asylum applications per month, Belgium (table migr_asyappctzm, 2008 to date)
Method : Values rounded to 5 by Eurostat. Average gap of 39 applications per month with the CGRS. Between 2017 and 2021 the gap is above 5% in some months, probably because the two bodies do not count exactly the same applications (resettlement, for example).
Applications registered per month since 2015 (CGRS)
Source : CGRS, monthly asylum statistics (PDF, page 1)
Method : In 2015 the CGRS counted files (one application can cover several people, such as a family), so that year is drawn separately. Since 2016 it counts people, accompanying minors included. The definition of first applications changes in April 2021 (resettlement separate) and January 2025 (resettlement excluded). The figures were read twice, with two different tools, and match.
CGRS decisions per month
Source : CGRS, monthly statistics (PDF, page 1)
Method : Decisions counted in people, since 2016 (in 2015 the CGRS counted files). January 2016: the total is unreadable in the PDF (a printed spreadsheet error). Protection = refugee status + subsidiary protection.
Protection rate published by the CGRS
Source : CGRS, monthly news items
Method : Only the published rate is shown; months without one stay empty. Our own calculation (protection granted divided by final decisions) gives the same rate for 90 of 102 months; for the other 12, the gap is 0.1 to 1.8 points.
For the whole of 2024, the protection rate is 47.8%. The CGRS revised this figure: its 2024 annual report gave 47.2%, its 2025 annual report gives 47.8%. 2025 annual report
CGRS workload (pending files, end of month)
Source : CGRS, monthly statistics (PDF, page 1)
Method : In files, not people. Not published for January 2017.
Main nationalities
CGRS, September 2026
| 1 | Afghanistan | 283 |
| 2 | Palestine | 266 |
| 3 | Eritrea | 188 |
| 4 | Türkiye | 156 |
| 5 | Burundi | 108 |
| 6 | Congo (DRC) | 74 |
| 7 | Cameroon | 70 |
| 8 | Guinea | 66 |
| 9 | Yemen | 52 |
| 10 | Syria | 45 |
Source : PDF CGRA, p. 4
Eurostat, year 2025
| 1 | Afghanistan | 3 940 |
| 2 | Palestine | 3 395 |
| 3 | Eritrea | 2 670 |
| 4 | Congo (DRC) | 2 415 |
| 5 | Türkiye | 2 370 |
| 6 | Burundi | 1 500 |
| 7 | Syria | 1 455 |
| 8 | Cameroon | 1 350 |
| 9 | Guinea | 1 335 |
| 10 | Moldova | 820 |
Source : Eurostat, asylum applications per year and nationality, Belgium (table migr_asyappctza)
Young people who say they are unaccompanied minors: how many are found to be adults?
When someone says they are under 18 and alone in Belgium, they are reported to the Guardianship Service (FPS Justice). If there is doubt about their age, the service can order a medical test (X-rays of the wrist, collarbone and teeth), then decides whether the person is an adult or a minor. Two sources publish figures that do not count the same thing, so they are not added together.
Age decisions by the Guardianship Service, per year
Source : FPS Justice, Guardianship Service statistics (chart of yearly age decisions)
Method : A decision = the conclusion “adult” or “minor” for a person whose age was in doubt, whether or not they applied for asylum. It is not the number of young people reported. Figures taken from the labels of the official chart, identical in every edition consulted that covers the year (2021, 2024, October 2025, August 2026).
Years published month by month (Guardianship Service)
| Period | Young people reported | Age doubts | Tests | Adults | Minors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 4 881 | 3 269 | 2 515 | 1 686 | 749 |
| 2024 | 4 068 | 2 168 | 1 713 | 1 154 | 500 |
| 2025 (January to October) | 2 903 | 1 454 | 1 120 | 848 | 256 |
| 2026 (January to August) | 1 550 | 729 | 321 | 287 | 82 |
Totals as printed by FPS Justice. Test results sometimes arrive the following month, and one person can receive several decisions, so tests and decisions do not match one to one. Two small inconsistencies in the documents themselves: in 2025 the months add up to 844 adults (848 printed) and 259 minors (256 printed); in 2026, 316 tests (321 printed). Other years are not published month by month in the documents found.
Asylum applicants who said they were unaccompanied minors (CGRS)
- 2024: 2 345 applicants said they were unaccompanied minors; 823 were later considered adults. PDF, p. 7
- 2025: 1 673 applicants said they were unaccompanied minors; 702 were later considered adults. PDF, p. 7
- 2026 (January to September): 684 applicants said they were unaccompanied minors; 163 were later considered adults. PDF, p. 7
Asylum applicants only, counted from January at the time of the report; the age check is not always finished, so the number of adults can still rise. The CGRS has only published this figure since April 2024. Not comparable with the Guardianship Service, which also counts young people who did not apply for asylum.
Fedasil reception network: capacity and occupancy
The vertical axis does not start at 0.
Source : Fedasil, reception network (French PDF; Internet Archive copies before March 2025)
Method : Fedasil only keeps its recent documents online. For dates before March 2025, we used old Fedasil PDFs kept by the Internet Archive (web.archive.org), an online library that stores copies of websites. Only dates whose document was found are plotted; nothing is estimated between two dates.
Capacity on 1 January (Fedasil)
The vertical axis does not start at 0.
Source : Fedasil, history printed in the PDFs
Method : Identical across all French documents consulted.
Fedasil waiting list
Source : Fedasil
Method : Only when the PDF states the figure.
Voluntary returns
Return decisions ≠ departures. These are actual voluntary departures organised by Fedasil and the Immigration Office; they are not comparable with orders to leave the territory.
| Period | Voluntary departures | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1 965 | |
| 2022 | 2 673 | |
| 2023 | 2 952 | |
| 2024 | 3 267 | |
| 2025 | 3 122 | |
| January 2025 | 229 | |
| February 2025 | 307 | |
| March 2025 | 268 | |
| April 2025 | 276 | |
| May 2025 | 273 | |
| June 2025 | 240 | |
| July 2025 | 277 | |
| August 2025 | 289 | |
| September 2025 | 238 | |
| October 2025 | 188 | |
| November 2025 | 245 | |
| December 2025 | 292 | |
| January 2026 | 231 | |
| February 2026 | 223 | |
| March 2026 | 231 | |
| April 2026 | 249 | |
| May 2026 | 191 | |
| June 2026 | 224 | |
| July 2026 | 228 | |
| August 2026 | 287 | |
| September 2026 | 293 | printed total 293, but 278 + 14 = 292 |
Source : Fedasil, voluntary return (PDF). Method: printed totals taken as is; internal inconsistencies (292 vs 293 in September 2026) are flagged, not corrected.
Location of reception centres: map of Fedasil centres.
Total applications per year according to CGRS annual reports: 2022 36 871 · 2023 35 507 · 2024 39 615 · 2025 34 439
Asylum: European comparison
First-time asylum applications relative to population, and share of positive first-instance decisions, according to Eurostat. All countries follow the same counting rules, set by an EU regulation.
| Country | First applications 2025 | Per 1,000 inhabitants | Positive decisions 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 27,540 | 2.32 | 29.7%of 29,860 decisions |
| France | 116,475 | 1.69p | 40.0%of 151,125 decisions |
| Netherlands | 24,115 | 1.34 | 47.7%of 15,540 decisions |
| Germany | 113,235 | 1.35 | 32.0%of 272,800 decisions |
| Luxembourg | 1,770 | 2.60 | 51.2%of 1,200 decisions |
| EU27 average | 672,350 | 1.49ep | 39.1%of 833,650 decisions |
Eurostat flags : e = estimated ; p = provisional A dash means: value not published.
Not to be confused with the CGRS protection rate. The “share of positive decisions” is calculated here from Eurostat tables: positive first-instance decisions (refugee status, subsidiary protection and, depending on the country, national humanitarian status) divided by all first-instance decisions, per person. The CGRS protection rate, shown on the Asylum page, is published by the CGRS using its own method. The two figures are not interchangeable.
Show all values
| Period | Belgium | France | Netherlands | Germany | Luxembourg | EU27 average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2.32 | 1.69p | 1.34 | 1.35 | 2.60 | 1.49ep |
| 2024 | 2.77 | 1.89p | 1.78 | 2.75 | 3.16 | 2.03ep |
| 2023 | 2.50 | 2.13p | 2.15 | 3.96b | 3.96 | 2.35bep |
| 2022 | 2.77 | 2.02 | 2.02 | 2.62 | 3.73 | 1.96ep |
| 2021 | 1.70 | 1.53 | 1.42 | 1.78 | 2.16 | 1.20bep |
| 2020 | 1.12 | 1.21 | 0.79 | 1.23 | 2.07 | 0.93e |
| 2019 | 2.02 | 2.06 | 1.30 | 1.72 | 3.58 | 1.41 |
| 2018 | 1.59 | 1.89p | 1.19 | 1.96 | 3.70 | 1.27e |
| 2017 | 1.24 | 1.38 | 0.94 | 2.40 | 3.94b | 1.40be |
| 2016 | 1.26 | 1.15 | 1.14 | 8.79 | 3.58 | 2.63e |
| 2015 | 3.48 | 1.06 | 2.55 | 5.44 | 4.19 | 2.75be |
| 2014 | 1.26 | 0.89b | 1.29 | 2.14 | 1.87 | 1.20be |
| 2013 | 1.08 | 0.92 | 0.58 | 1.36 | 1.84 | - |
| 2012 | 1.67b | 0.83b | 0.58 | 0.80 | 3.81b | - |
| 2011 | 2.33b | 0.80 | 0.69 | 0.57b | 3.75 | - |
| 2010 | 2.01 | 0.74 | 0.80 | 0.51 | - | - |
| 2009 | 1.60 | 0.65 | 0.90 | 0.34 | - | - |
| 2008 | 1.07 | - | 0.82 | 0.26 | - | - |
Show all values
| Period | Belgium | France | Netherlands | Germany | Luxembourg | EU27 average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 29.7% | 40.0% | 47.7% | 32.0% | 51.2% | 39.1% |
| 2024 | 48.7% | 37.8% | 75.3% | 53.4% | 63.8% | 51.4% |
| 2023 | 44.6% | 31.4% | 80.8% | 62.2% | 67.9% | 52.9% |
| 2022 | 45.4% | 27.5% | 87.2% | 65.0% | 79.4% | 48.8% |
| 2021 | 43.6% | 24.7% | 73.0% | 45.1% | 69.9% | 38.2% |
| 2020 | 34.9% | 22.2% | 63.3% | 48.6% | 64.4% | 40.3% |
| 2019 | 38.0% | 24.7% | 37.3% | 45.6% | 56.8% | 37.8% |
| 2018 | 50.8% | 28.4% | 35.2% | 42.4% | 71.6% | 37.3% |
| 2017 | 52.3% | 29.4% | 49.0% | 49.9% | 65.4% | 45.9% |
| 2016 | 60.2% | 32.9% | 72.1% | 68.7% | 61.0% | 61.6% |
| 2015 | 53.8% | 26.5% | 80.4% | 56.5% | 23.9% | 52.6% |
| 2014 | 39.5% | 21.6% | 66.7% | 41.6% | 13.6% | 46.1% |
| 2013 | 29.2% | 17.3% | 48.9% | 26.4% | 10.4% | 33.9% |
| 2012 | 22.5% | 14.4% | 40.3% | 29.2% | 2.4% | 31.9% |
| 2011 | 25.3% | 10.9% | 43.3% | 24.0% | 3.4% | - |
| 2010 | 21.1% | 13.5% | 45.5% | 23.0% | 14.7% | - |
| 2009 | 19.0% | 14.3% | 46.9% | 36.4% | 23.4% | - |
| 2008 | 25.7% | 16.2% | 51.9% | 40.7% | 14.3% | - |
Method : first-time applications in the year divided by the population on 1 January of the same year (Eurostat), multiplied by 1,000. Eurostat rounds application and decision counts to 5. A calculated rate keeps the flags of both terms.
Source : Eurostat (demo_pjan, updated 25 September 2026, retrieved 20 October 2026) ; Eurostat (migr_asyappctza, updated 3 September 2026, retrieved 20 October 2026) ; Eurostat (migr_asydcfsta, updated 24 August 2026, retrieved 20 October 2026).