From Asylum Reception (COA) to a Municipality: Moves and Integration in Numbers
Official Statistics Netherlands (CBS) figures on asylum migrants' move from COA reception to a municipality: distance, interim moves, integration, and settlement time.
- Author
- By Inburgering.org team (Editorial team)
- Reviewer
- Reviewed by Kirill Svavolia (Editorial review)
- Last updated
Before asylum status holders start inburgering with a municipality, many move through several reception locations. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) figures through the end of 2025 show that about 87% of asylum migrants moved at least once before they were housed in a municipality. About 3 in 10 were placed within 20 kilometres of the location run by the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) where they lived when they were coupled to a municipality. Inburgering.org analyses and summarises official CBS Statistiek Wet inburgering figures. It does not produce these statistics or represent a government body.
Direct Answer: What Does the Journey From COA to a Municipality Look Like?
For asylum migrants under Wet inburgering 2021, CBS data through the end of 2025 shows that roughly 87% moved at least once inside the reception system before being housed in a municipality. About 30% were placed 20 to 60 km from their COA reception location. Around 46% settled within six months after their integration obligation began. About 55% did at least one integration activity while still in reception: a broad intake (brede intake), a personal plan, or pre-integration (voorinburgering). About 41,700 consented to voorinburgering, while roughly 13,700 declined. These figures apply only to asylum migrants. Family and other migrants settle directly with their referent and have no COA stay.
Key Points
- These figures cover asylum migrants only. Family migrants and "other" migrants settle directly with their referent (the person they join in the Netherlands) and do not pass through COA reception.
- About 87% of asylum migrants moved at least once before municipal housing, and over 40% moved three or more times.
- Around 30% were coupled to a municipality 20 to 60 km from their COA location, and about 40% were placed 60 km away or more. About 15% stayed in the same place.
- About 55% of asylum migrants did at least one integration activity during reception, and around 45% took part in voorinburgering (pre-integration).
- About 46% settled in a municipality within six months after their integration obligation began. A further 23% were already settled when the obligation began.
Who the COA-to-Municipality Figures Cover
An asylum migrant who receives a residence permit becomes a status holder (statushouder). The status holder is coupled (gekoppeld) to a municipality. The municipality then becomes responsible for housing and integration. While status holders wait for housing, they usually stay in COA reception locations and may be moved several times. During reception, the municipality starts a brede intake (broad intake interview) and writes a PIP (Persoonlijk plan Inburgering en Participatie, the personal integration and participation plan). COA offers voorinburgering (pre-integration): basic Dutch and orientation lessons before the formal route begins.
How Many Times People Move Before Settling
CBS counted how many times asylum migrants moved inside the reception system before they were housed in a municipality. The table covers about 67,600 people.
| Interim moves before housing | Asylum migrants | Share |
|---|---|---|
| No move | ~8,905 | ~13% |
| 1 move | ~15,495 | ~23% |
| 2 moves | ~15,405 | ~23% |
| 3 moves | ~12,950 | ~19% |
| 4 or more moves | ~14,865 | ~22% |
Adding up everyone with at least one move gives roughly 58,700 of 67,600 people, or about 87%. More than 40% moved three or more times, and about 22% moved four or more times. All of these moves happened before the person received a fixed municipal address.
How Far From the COA Location People Are Placed
The second part of the journey is distance. CBS measures, at the moment of coupling, how far the assigned municipality is from the COA reception location the person was living in. The table below shows that distribution for asylum migrants, across a base of about 61,500 people.
| Distance at coupling | Asylum migrants | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 0 km (same place) | ~8,975 | ~15% |
| More than 0 to 20 km | ~9,820 | ~16% |
| 20 to 60 km | ~18,150 | ~30% |
| 60 to 100 km | ~8,630 | ~14% |
| 100 to 140 km | ~7,045 | ~11% |
| 140 km or more | ~8,860 | ~14% |
The largest band is 20 to 60 km, at about 30%. About 15% were coupled to the same place where they already lived. Roughly 40% were placed 60 km away or more.
How Fast People Settle Once They Are Obligated
The integration obligation (inburgeringsplicht) and the move into a municipality do not always happen at the same time. CBS measures the time between the start of the obligation and settling in a municipality. The table below shows that for asylum migrants, across a base of about 71,200 people.
| Time from obligation to settling | Asylum migrants | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Already settled when obligation started | ~16,175 | ~23% |
| Within 3 months | ~17,870 | ~25% |
| 3 to 6 months | ~14,505 | ~20% |
| 6 to 12 months | ~14,645 | ~21% |
| More than 12 months | ~7,990 | ~11% |
Counting only the time after the obligation began, about 32,400 people, or roughly 46% of the whole group, settled within six months. About 11% took more than a year. A further 23% were already living in a municipality when the obligation started. By one year after the obligation began, about 89% had settled in a municipality.
Integration That Starts During Reception
Asylum migrants can start integration activities before they receive a municipal address. During the COA opvangovereenkomst (the reception agreement), they can complete a brede intake (broad intake interview), have the municipality set a PIP, or take part in voorinburgering (pre-integration). The table shows uptake of these activities among about 68,100 people.
| Activity during reception | Asylum migrants | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Brede intake and PIP in COA | ~6,580 | ~9.7% |
| Brede intake in COA (no PIP yet) | ~13,915 | ~20.4% |
| Took part in voorinburgering | ~30,705 | ~45.1% |
| Did at least one of these activities | ~37,570 | ~55.2% |
About 55% did at least one integration activity during reception, with voorinburgering the most common single activity at about 45%. The brede intake categories overlap with voorinburgering, so they do not add up to the "at least one" total. The bottom row is the unduplicated figure for anyone who did any of them.
Voorinburgering: Who Agrees to Take Part
COA offers voorinburgering during reception. CBS records consent (instemming) as yes, no, or unknown. Among known responses, the table shows roughly three consents for every decline; it also keeps the unknown responses visible.
| Voorinburgering consent | Asylum migrants |
|---|---|
| Yes (consented) | ~41,705 |
| No (declined) | ~13,715 |
| Unknown | ~6,990 |
Consent records willingness to take part. These figures do not show how many lessons each person attended.
A Smaller Group Is Coupled to a Municipality More Than Once
CBS counted about 2,635 asylum migrants who were coupled to a municipality more than once. About 62% of these re-couplings happened before the broad intake started.
What This Means If You Are an Asylum Status Holder
If you are a status holder waiting for housing, repeated moves are common: about 87% of asylum migrants moved at least once before municipal housing. About 46% settled within six months after their integration obligation began. About 55% did at least one integration activity during reception, so the broad intake or voorinburgering may begin while you are still waiting for housing.
For the bigger picture of who these newcomers are, see our breakdown of the demographics of new inburgeraars. For what happens once you settle and how fast your PIP is set, see PIP timing by municipality. For the law that frames this process, read what changed under Wet inburgering 2021.
Official Sources
Official source checked: June 2026.
- CBS Statistiek Wet inburgering (SWI) dashboard - CBS dashboard on the obligated population under Wet inburgering 2021, including the asylum reception journey: distance between the COA reception location and the coupled municipality, interim moves, time to settling, integration activities during reception, and voorinburgering consent. Has per-chart CSV downloads; figures cover the period through end 2025 (preliminary).
- COA (Centraal Orgaan opvang asielzoekers) - The central agency for asylum reception in the Netherlands. COA runs reception locations and, together with municipalities and the Rijk, handles the coupling (koppeling) of status holders to a municipality and the voorinburgering programme offered during reception.
- Rijksoverheid: Wet inburgering 2021 - Government overview of the 2021 integration law: the broad intake (brede intake), the personal integration plan (PIP), and the role of municipalities once a status holder settles.
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