Official statistics released on 15 September show that the Immigration Office registered 2,142 applications for international protection in August 2026 – a 26 % drop compared with the same month last year. The figures, confirmed by both the Office of the Commissioner-General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS) and Asylum and Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt, mark the fifth consecutive monthly decline. The downtrend is significant for multinational employers: a lighter caseload shortens appointment backlogs at municipal town halls, making it easier to secure residence cards for assignees’ family members. It also relieves pressure on the temporary accommodation market, where corporate apartments in Brussels had seen double-digit rent hikes as asylum centres overflowed in 2025. Van Bossuyt credited tighter EU-Turkey border policing and Belgium’s expanded fast-track returns policy for the improvement, but warned that the government will now shift focus to repatriating illegal stayers. Companies employing asylum seekers on work permits should therefore review compliance processes and ensure status checks are up to date. Despite the decline, the CGRS still faces a backlog of 21,000 dossiers – more than triple its ‘normal’ workload – meaning some claimants will wait over a year for a decision. Employers offering pro-bono legal support to refugee talent should plan for extended timelines. If the trend continues, Belgium could drop out of the top five EU destinations for asylum seekers next year, potentially freeing budget for digitising the application system – a move business groups have long advocated to streamline labour-market integration.
Source: The Brussels Times / CGRS
