During a press conference at the maritime police in Ostend, the Minister of Justice, Vincent Van Quickenborne, said that the strong approach towards human smugglers has led to a 90% drop in transit migrants to the UK.

From this Wednesday, the three organizations offer immediate hosting in a building located in Anderlecht to applicants who will later be referred to a reception center from Fedasil.

Flemish Minister for Home affairs, Administrative affairs, Civic integration and Equal opportunities, Bart Somers, wants newcomers to succeed in 9 out of 11 questions about the Belgian fundamental values.

In 2022, 2,673 persons voluntarily returned to their country of origin. The number is higher than before the corona period, when 2,426 persons returned voluntarily in 2019. 

People affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria who wish to travel to Belgium to receive support from their families will have their visa application handled faster.

State Secretary for Asylum and Migration, Nicole de Moor, is putting in place prevention campaigns to prevent asylum seekers under the responsibility of other European countries, from starting an asylum procedure in our country. This secondary migration from other EU Member States creates additional pressure on Belgium's asylum system and reception network.

On 24 January 2023, the State Secretary for Asylum and Migration, Nicole De Moor, attended the Commission for Home Affairs, Security, Migration and Administrative Affairs in regard to the reception challenges Belgium faces regarding applicants for international protection.

In 2022, Fedasil welcomed 71 refugees resettled in Belgium, mostly Syrians from Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon. This figure is not in line with the objectives set at the beginning of last year.

As from 4 January 2023, beneficiaries of temporary protection with an A card valid until 4 March 2023 can present themselves to the municipality to request a new one valid until 4 March 2024.

In the Chamber of Representatives today, Nicole de Moor presented the main lines of its policy on asylum and migration. Despite the many current challenges, the State Secretary intends to carry out reforms in this field.

The annual report contains a complete overview of the asylum figures of 2020. It also focuses on the impact of COVID-19, on the functioning of the CGRS and on the international asylum context. The annual report is available in Dutch and French in an online version and in PDF format.

The Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS) launched asyluminbelgium.be. This new website provides information in nine languages about the asylum procedure in Belgium, tailored to the needs of asylum seekers. 

On 15 December, EMN Belgium and the EMN Return Expert Group will host a half-day webinar on Alternatives to Detention. The online event focuses on the current legal framework on alternatives to detention, the implementation of these alternatives in practice and the identification of emerging good practices and pilot projects.

The new State Secretary for Asylum and Migration, Sammy Mahdi (CD&V) presented his General Policy Paper on Asylum and Migration in Parliament on 18 November 2020.

On 16 September 2020, the Interior Committee of the Belgian House of Representatives held a parliamentary hearing on a legislative proposal concerning the prohibition of detention of minors. EMN Belgium contributed to the hearing by presenting the laws, policies and practices in other EU Member States.

In its Review 2019, Fedasil presents the most important events and figures on reception, voluntary return and resettlement of the past year. The overview shows an increase in the number of people entitled to reception and for whom more than 5000 temporary places were opened in 2019.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, personal interviews of applicants for international protection at the CGRS were stopped in March. They were started again in June. To improve the safety of staff and applicants, a video with practical instructions was created.

Today EMN Belgium has launched a Twitter account to better disseminate EMN outputs. 

Border closures and quarantine rules to prevent the spreading of Covid-19 risk having a negative impact on seasonal work. To address labour shortages in the agricultural and horticultural sectors, the federal and regional governments decided to adopt a series of measures in the spring of 2020.

Voluntary returns to the countries of origin are decreasing for the third consecutive year.

On 22 October 2019, the Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities (VVSG) published the results of the survey conducted in the spring of 2019. The results show that especially the search for housing for beneficiaries of international protection is very problematic. The regulations state that, in principle, they must leave the Local Reception Initiative (LOI) within two months. As in the VVSG survey of 2017, half of the respondents do not consider this period to be feasible. For almost 1 in 5, finding housing within this timeframe very exceptionally the case, and only thanks to the possibility to extend the stay in the LOI twice by 1 month.  

On 8 October 2019, Fedasil launched the new information platform www.fedasilinfo.be. The mobile website provides applicants for international protection (asylum seekers) in Belgium with reliable information in 12 languages, 8 of which include an audio version.

Today the English translation of the latest report on Human Trafficking and Smuggling from Myria was published. The 2018 report focuses on underage victims of trafficking and smuggling of human beings.

The Federal Public Service Interior has made a short video about foreign unaccompanied minors seeking international protection in Belgium.

Each year, the Odysseus Network organizes a Summer School in EU immigration and asylum law and policy. The courses tackle the most recent legislative, jurisprudential and political developments in the field at EU level.