Netherlands expands emergency refugee housing amid asylum accommodation crisis

Activists from the MiGreat group staged an overnight sleep‑in protest at the entrance of The Hague city hall to draw attention to the dire lack of asylum‑seeker accommodation at the Ter Apel registration centre. They highlighted that many Dutch municipalities are failing to meet their legal obligations under the Distribution Act, leaving refugees without adequate shelter.

Meanwhile, the municipality of Groningen reopened its Hanzeplaza congress centre this weekend on the Ministry of Asylum and Migration’s request to provide emergency housing for asylum seekers. The move follows the closure of temporary shelters in Drenthe and other regions, aiming to prevent people from having to sleep outdoors at the registration centre. Both actions underscore the ongoing pressure on Dutch local and national authorities to find a more sustainable solution to the refugee housing crisis.