Transfer of 400 asylum seekers with the closure of the last reception hotel in Brussels
Brussels officially closed its last asylum seeker hotel last Wednesday, ending an era of temporary accommodation, according to Belgian Minister of Asylum and Migration Annelies Verlinden. The closure happened sooner than originally planned.
All five reception hotels in the city are now closed, following a significant drop in asylum requests. About 400 people were living in these hotels before the transfer operations were completed.
Van Bossuyt explained that housing asylum seekers in hotels has never been a sustainable solution. She described it as the result of years of political neglect and promised to end this practice, saying: "I promised to end this situation, and that is what is happening today."
The minister pointed out that the flow of asylum seekers decreased by 28% in the second half of last year, following the implementation of the crisis measures she put in place. This decline reflects a more stringent management and policy adjustments in response to previous increases.
In the future, Van Bossuyt plans to introduce additional measures in 2026 aimed at reducing the number of new asylum seekers arriving in Belgium, continuing her strategy to move away from temporary accommodation in hotels.