COA warns of new humanitarian threshold
The reception agency says pressure in Ter Apel is rising rapidly and hundreds of additional places are needed.
There is news on this story (Friday, 9 October 2026, 15:44): Twenty asylum seekers sleep outside again in Ter Apel
The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) warns that the reception situation in Ter Apel is once again approaching a humanitarian threshold. The organisation says emergency reception and temporary accommodation are urgently needed to prevent people having to wait outside the reception centre without facilities.
The COA published a warning about the situation in Ter Apel on Thursday. According to the organisation, it is becoming increasingly difficult to provide immediate reception even for children, women and people with medical problems. These groups have priority since controlled access was introduced at the registration centre.
The additional emergency accommodation made available by the Red Cross for people for whom no place was yet available is now full, according to the COA. Reception centres elsewhere in the Netherlands are also said to have been operating above capacity for months. The organisation describes the situation as highly critical until structural improvements are made.
According to the COA, the pressure is not caused solely by new arrivals. Many residents remain in reception for a long time because asylum procedures and court cases take time. In addition, people with residence permits are waiting for housing in municipalities. As a result, places intended for new asylum seekers are not becoming available quickly enough.
The COA says there is an acute shortage of hundreds of reception places. The organisation is asking municipalities to make temporary, flexible accommodation available for permit holders, so that space can be created in regular reception. Existing emergency locations should also remain open for longer and new temporary facilities should be made available quickly.
Board chair Remco Bakker says the organisation has been seeking solutions for months with municipalities, the Red Cross and VluchtelingenWerk. According to him, residents, staff and others involved are “at the end of their tether”. The COA stresses that reception centres sometimes remain open longer than agreed with municipalities because there is no alternative.
In the longer term, the Distribution Act and structural funding for the COA should bring greater stability, according to the organisation. However, those measures will not solve the current shortage immediately. The precise size of the group that slept outside on Thursday night into Friday could not be independently established in the public source consulted.
The warning is therefore primarily a signal about the development of reception capacity, not only about one night in Ter Apel. The COA links the problems to a combination of long stays, a lack of municipal housing and the expiry of temporary emergency accommodation.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The COA reports a shortage of reception places and is calling for emergency reception and temporary accommodation.
- According to the COA, reception places remain occupied because of lengthy procedures and the shortage of housing for permit holders.
- The source consulted does not independently confirm the exact number of people who slept outside that night.
Left
Arguments The government must immediately arrange sufficient humane reception and require municipalities to provide their share. People must not sleep outside because of administrative backlogs.
Values Human dignity, equal responsibility and the protection of vulnerable people.
Consequences More public reception and temporary accommodation in the short term, with higher government spending and potentially more opposition in municipalities.
Centre
Arguments A combination of temporary emergency reception, faster procedures and better movement into housing is needed. Municipalities, central government and implementing organisations must each make a workable contribution.
Values Practicality, the rule of law and administrative cooperation.
Consequences A temporary expansion may ease the pressure, but structural improvement will remain dependent on procedures, housebuilding and stable funding.
Right
Arguments Reception must not grow indefinitely without control over arrivals, departures and safety. Temporary emergency reception must not become a permanent solution, and municipalities must not be burdened without clear limits.
Values Manageability, national responsibility and public support.
Consequences Greater emphasis on returns and limiting arrivals, but if additional places are not provided, the immediate risk of people sleeping outside will remain.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The article's core is based on a current warning from the COA. The limited source base is noted as an uncertainty; the unconfirmed exact number of people sleeping outside is not presented as fact.
- confirmed The COA warns that the reception situation in Ter Apel is critical. — This is stated in the current COA warning. source
- confirmed The Red Cross's additional emergency reception is full. — Mentioned in the published COA text. source
- confirmed There is an acute shortage of hundreds of reception places. — The COA explicitly says this in the same warning. source
- confirmed Lengthy procedures and a lack of housing for permit holders are keeping reception places occupied. — The COA text cites both causes. source
Editor's note
The COA warning, the shortage of places and the causes cited can be found in public sources. Current headlines report that people slept outside, but the exact number and circumstances could not be confirmed by a second current, independent public source.Sources
- COA waarschuwt: Nieuwe humanitaire ondergrens in de opvang bereikt — COA, gepubliceerd via Groot-Waterland
- COA waarschuwt: Nieuwe humanitaire ondergrens in de opvang bereikt — Oozo
The story so far
- Friday, 9 October 2026, 13:42 COA warns of new humanitarian threshold (this article)
- Friday, 9 October 2026, 15:44 Twenty asylum seekers sleep outside again in Ter Apel
More on this in Dutch media
- RTL Nieuws — „ter apel”
- NOS — „ter apel”
- Het Parool — „ter apel”