Nearly 309,000 immigrants arrived in the Netherlands in 2025, 8,000 fewer than a year earlier, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). The decline was mainly due to fewer asylum seekers and fewer highly skilled migrants from outside the European Union.
The number of asylum migrants fell to almost 35,000, down more than 4,000 from 2024. They made up around 11 per cent of all immigrants. This group includes people who have been admitted to the Netherlands and registered with a municipality. About half of them arrived through family reunification, joining relatives whose asylum applications had already been approved.
The number of highly skilled migrants from outside the EU also declined. It has halved over the past three years, dropping from 26,000 in 2022 to nearly 14,000 in 2025. The fall was especially notable among migrants from India. CBS suggests this may be linked to increased opportunities to work remotely from abroad since the coronavirus pandemic.
Immigration to the Netherlands has now decreased for three consecutive years. This follows a long period of growth that began in 2006. The number of arrivals peaked in 2022, largely due to refugees from Ukraine. More than 100,000 Ukrainians came to the Netherlands that year. In 2025, the number fell to just over 28,000.
@anp | NEWS BRAINPORT
