A shift in Dutch asylum policy is causing unrest in small towns like Doezum, where plans to house 100 refugees in a temporary settlement have sparked local opposition.
With the government ending the automatic priority of status holders — asylum seekers granted residence permits — for social housing, municipalities are now scrambling for alternatives. One such measure, so-called “transfer locations”, is drawing backlash from residents concerned about social tensions and lack of integration.
The village of Doezum, Groningen, home to just 700 residents, has suddenly found itself at the center of a national debate over asylum accommodation. The municipality of Westerkwartier is planning to construct dozens of chalets on an estate at the village’s edge to accommodate 100 status holders.
Local residents, who only found out about the plan through a letter, say they were blindsided by the decision.
“My 25-year-old son has been trying to find a place to live for years, but there’s nothing available,” village resident Sonja told De Telegraaf newspaper. “Yet housing for people from far away appears overnight. How is that fair?”
Others worry that the majority of the new arrivals will be young, single men.
“That’s just asking for trouble,” one concerned villager remarked.
Tensions escalated when a municipal information meeting was abruptly canceled due to overwhelming public interest.
“Of course, the whole village wants answers,” said one elderly resident. “This is the biggest change we’ve seen here in 35 years!”
Under Dutch law, municipalities must house a certain number of status holders every six months. Westerkwartier must find housing for at least 42 refugees by April 1 or risk having the province assign them housing locations elsewhere in the municipality.
However, many local governments are struggling due to the nationwide housing shortage. Last year, around 50 municipalities met their quota, while nearly 300 fell behind. With social housing in short supply, municipalities are forced to find alternatives — including hotel accommodations and temporary “transfer locations” like the one proposed in Doezum.
The Dutch government, which swung considerably to the right after Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV) won the most seats in November 2023, has vowed to implement the strictest asylum policy ever seen in the Netherlands, but to date, few radical measures have been implemented after necessary coalition talks with more centrist parties watered down plans.
In attempts to deprioritize asylum seekers from social housing registers, while easing pressure on packed asylum centers, the government announced transitional housing units as a viable short-term solution.
Under plans announced by Asylum Minister Marjolein Faber, local authorities that establish this type of accommodation receive an annual bonus of more than €21,000 per asylum seeker in government funding.
Critics, however, argue that the plan simply moves large cohorts of asylum seekers from one place to another, creating migrant communities in new areas that will not assist with assimilation and will exacerbate social tensions.
“If you put a few hundred people in one place, it starts to feel like a new type of asylum center,” warned Mark Boumans, vice president of the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG) and mayor of Doetinchem. “What will the atmosphere be like? Will they learn Dutch, find jobs, or simply remain isolated? What will it mean for nearby communities?”
“I support housing refugees, but not by cramming 100 people together on the edge of the village,” added local Doezum resident, Peter. “In the past, they arrived in smaller numbers and became our neighbors. Now they’ll be stuck together, separated from us.”
Plans remain afoot in the Netherlands for sweeping reforms, and the Dutch government insists this is a short-term measure ahead of widescale changes to the country’s asylum policy.
“I am the minister who is taking concrete measures to really get a grip on migration. We must do whatever it takes,” Faber said in an address to the Dutch parliament in November last year.
Legislation has been proposed to end the automatic transition to permanent residency for asylum seekers after five years, implement stricter family reunification rules, ramp up deportation powers, construct more detention facilities, and scrap dispersal laws regulating the distribution of asylum seekers across Dutch municipalities.
Earlier this month, the plans were criticized by the Council of State advisory body report, but Faber insists she has little intention of making significant adjustments to the legislation.
“Maybe a point and a comma, but that’s it,” the PVV minister states. “I am convinced that my lawyers have made a good proposal. The advice is not binding — I can do what I want with it.”