The House of Representatives is deeply concerned about the thousands of children staying in Dutch emergency shelters. During a committee debate, MPs called for immediate improvements for the most vulnerable children, but Minister Mona Keijzer tempered expectations. “I can't just conjure up places out of thin air.”
More than 4 in 10 children in Dutch asylum shelters are currently staying in emergency shelters. This concerns more than 7,000 children staying in temporary shelters.
This is almost double the size of the group in 2023, when there were approximately 4,000 children. During a committee debate in the House of Representatives on September 23, 2025, their situation was discussed by members of parliament and Minister for Asylum and Migration Mona Keijzer.
In the summer, the Inspectorate of Justice and Security, the Inspectorate of Education, and the Inspectorate of Health Care and Youth concluded that the situation of children in emergency shelters has not improved sufficiently in recent years. For example, there is no proper education in shelters and there is little supervision of the safety and health of the children. The three inspectorates requested the Ministers of Asylum and Migration to quickly improve the situation for the children.
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