The number of people seeking asylum in Belgium fell to 2,071 in September 2026, down 30 percent from the same month last year and marking the ninth straight monthly decline, according to figures cited on 17 October by German-language daily GrenzEcho. Applications from unaccompanied minors dropped even faster, from 1,334 to 684. Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt attributes the trend to the tougher screening, accelerated Dublin transfers and stricter reception-centre rules adopted since early 2025. She compares Belgium’s 30 percent fall with an 18 percent decline EU-wide, calling it evidence that “firm but fair” policies deter unfounded claims. NGOs disagree, arguing that procedural hurdles simply push protection seekers toward neighbouring states and that the backlog in the Council for Alien Law Litigation remains above 11,000 cases, leaving applicants in limbo. They also point to continued labour-market demand – Belgium still issued more than 6,000 single-permit work authorisations to third-country nationals in the same period – as proof that controlled legal pathways, not deterrence, are the solution. For employers, the figures signal that asylum reception facilities are under less pressure, potentially freeing up housing stock in key cities. Yet the political focus on curbing irregular migration is unlikely to soften work-permit compliance audits: companies sponsoring hires under the EU Blue Card or Highly-Qualified Permit should expect closer scrutiny of wage thresholds and genuine-vacancy tests. A draft overhaul of the 1980 Aliens Act, due in Parliament this winter, will seek to codify faster inadmissibility decisions and electronic service of documents – measures that could further accelerate the downward trend but also raise due-process concerns.
Source: GrenzEcho
