You may temporarily lodge with acquaintances during your asylum procedure
There is not enough room in the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA). Therefore, you can temporarily lodge with family or friends. Your lodging does not affect your asylum procedure. Read here how it works.
This is how lodging with family and friends works
Are you staying in a reception centre run by the
Lodging with friends or family does not affect your asylum procedure. You will not have to wait any longer, nor will you be put on a waiting list. The lodging arrangement is only intended to reduce crowding in reception centres.
These are the conditions for lodging
If you want to lodge with family or friends, you must meet the following conditions:
You are not in a
You are 18 years of age or older
You have a citizen service number (BSN).
If you have children, your lodging address should be near the school your children attend. That way, your children can continue to attend the same school.
You have a general practitioner in the municipality or close to the municipality where you will be lodging, or you have the option of registering with the GP of the people with whom you will be lodging.
You do not need intensive medical treatments or complex care.
Read how to apply for a BSN here
These are your rights while lodging
While lodging, you are still entitled to:
Living allowance and food money from COA. If you are 21 years of age or older, you are temporarily entitled to 75 euros extra per week. This amount is lower if you are lodging with several family members.
Reimbursement for your care. You do not have to arrange your own medical care during your stay. You are still covered by the Regeling Medische zorg Asielzoekers (RMA). You are also entitled to money to travel to your doctor or hospital. You can request this from COA.
This is what you need to arrange when you go to lodge with friends or family
If you would like to stay with friends or family, get in touch with your contact at COA or go to the Information Desk. COA employees will explain what you need to do to be able to stay with them. COA will meet with you beforehand to determine whether you meet the conditions for a stay. COA also explains your rights and obligations.
If COA decides that you can lodge, you and the people you are lodging with will sign a lodging contract. This is because lodging can have financial consequences for the people with whom you are lodging. For example, benefits or allowances. Your contact person at COA will give you a letter explaining the financial consequences. You give this letter to the people with whom you want to lodge. They must sign the letter once they have read it. This is part of the contract.
After the contract is signed, arrange the following things:
Register with the municipality at the address where you will be lodging. This must be done within 5 days of the start of your stay.
If you also have a supervisor from VluchtelingenWerk Nederland (VWN), please also inform your supervisor from VWN that you will be lodging with them.
If you would like to register with the same GP as the people you are lodging with, you can register there.
After 3 months, you can extend the lodging
Are you still in the asylum procedure after the 3-month lodging? Then you can ask if you can lodge longer with your friends or family. You apply for this extension at COA.
If you, your family or friends no longer want you to lodge with them, you will be given another place in one of COA's reception centres. This may be in a different place than the one you were in before. Even if your asylum application is rejected during your lodging, you will have to return to the COA reception centre.