The number of asylum applications in Belgium reached 3,269 in July, according to the latest monthly statistics, published on Tuesday by the Commissioner-General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRA).
Last month's figure marked the second-highest monthly total for 2025, following January, when 3,540 applications were filed.
Out of 2,492 applications processed last month, around a quarter (597) were approved, while 1,033 were rejected and 700 were deemed inadmissible.
Most applicants came from Palestine, Afghanistan, and Eritrea. Turkey, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Syria, Guinea, Cameroon, and Moldova completed the list of top 10 nationalities.
This year’s July figures were slightly lower than those of the corresponding month in 2024, when more than 3,500 applications were submitted. At that time, the average protection rate stood at 47.8%, compared to a significantly lower 31.7% for the first seven months of 2025.
Stricter asylum policies led by Immigration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt (N-VA) are being cited as a possible reason for the decline.
Since the beginning of August, new measures have come into effect, including higher income and age thresholds for family reunification as well as a rule excluding asylum seekers already granted protection in another EU Member State from obtaining accommodation. These changes are expected to influence statistical trends in the latter half of the year.
In total, 20,836 asylum applications have been lodged in Belgium since 1 January 2025. Out of 18,027 applications processed so far this year, 5,715 have been granted international protection.
