Author
Overall conditions
The minimum material reception rights for asylum applicants are described in the Reception Act, mainly in a very general way.[1] Fedasil organises them into 4 categories of services:[2]
- ‘Bed, bath, bread’: the basic needs, that is a place to sleep, meals, sanitary facilities and clothing;
- Guidance, including social, legal, linguistic, medical and psychological assistance;
- Daily life, including leisure, activities, education, training, work and community services; and
- Neighbourhood initiatives.
Many aspects such as the social guidance during transition to financial aid after a person has obtained a legal stay, or the legal guidance during the asylum procedure and the quality norms for reception facilities have, as of 1 January 2025, not yet been regulated by implementing decrees as the law has stipulated. Until then, they are left to be determined by the individual reception facilities themselves or in a more coordinated way by Fedasil instructions. Due to this, as of January 2026, the quality norms for reception facilities are still not available in a public document, although they exist and were updated and agreed upon by all the partners of Fedasil in 2018. They contain minimum social and legal guidance standards, material assistance, infrastructure, contents and safety.
In 2015 Fedasil developed a framework to conduct quality audits based on these uniform standards. Setting minimum standards and an audit mechanism was difficult as different partners, such as the Red Cross, have developed their own norms and standards over the years. Moreover, some partners criticised the possibility to have audits being performed by Fedasil instead of an independent authority.[3] As of 1 January 2026, these audits are performed by Fedasil and there is still no independent and external monitoring system put in place. The past years, audits were conducted at all levels of the reception system (both by Fedasil and partners, and both in collective and individual shelters): 32 in 2023, 39 in 2024 and 54 in 2025. For 2026, 38 audits are planned, 26 of which in reception centres. The findings are not public and only communicated to the reception facility concerned.[4]
A Royal Decree regulates the system and operating rules in reception centres as well as on the modalities for checking the rooms.[5] This contains several general rights for the asylum applicant, such as:
- The right to a private and family life: family members should be accommodated close to each other;
- The right to be treated in an equal, non-discriminatory and respectful manner;
- Three meals per day provided either directly by the infrastructure or through other means;
- The right to be visited by lawyers and representatives of UNHCR. These visits should take place in a separate room allowing for private conversations.
In 2025, the Odisee University College finalised an AMIF funded research project that studies children’s rights in the reception network for a period of five years.[6] One of the main findings is that emotional, physical and sexual safety of children cannot be guaranteed in the reception centers. Moreover, the researchers warn that the situation is going from bad to worse.[7] These findings were confirmed by the Flemish Children’s Rights Commissioner. In their yearly report they write that “once again this year, we have received reports regarding the quality of asylum accommodation in our country, including for children and young people. This has been the case for many years running. However, today’s reports concern basic needs. Living conditions are often dire: insufficient privacy and security, poor hygiene, inadequate infrastructure, night-time noise, violence, insufficient medical and psychological care, insufficient clothing and food, and insufficient supervision. These structural shortcomings have a serious impact on the well-being of children and young people who are forced to stay – often for long periods – in these collective reception centres”.[8] Fedasil states that “based on the results of this project, an action plan will be drawn up this year to further strengthen and safeguard the rights and opportunities of minors in reception structures. The proposal includes measures relating to infrastructure, protocols for the prevention and follow-up of unsafe situations, training, coaching and peer support for staff, child participation and external collaboration. This plan has yet to be approved”.[9]
Due to the current reception crisis, the reception network has been at full capacity since September 2021. No public documents are available about the impact of the reception crisis on the living conditions in the reception network.
Shortage of places
Since September 2021 Fedasil can no longer provide a reception place for all applicants for international protection. Despite efforts to create new places, there are not enough places available in the reception network. Fedasil therefore needs to prioritise ‘vulnerable’ groups. Single men are considered to be the ‘least vulnerable’ group, due to which they are systematically denied access to the reception network.
The reception crisis persisted throughout 2025, with a total of 10,191 persons with a reception need not granted any reception place; an increase of 1,375 compared to 2023. On 1 March 2026, 1,345 were registered on the waiting list of Fedasil, waiting to get access to a reception place.[10] The average waiting time is 59 days.[11] (see extensive information on the reception crisis under Constraints in accessing accommodation).
Average duration of stay
In 2025, the average length of stay of applicants for international protection in the reception system was 480 days (+- 16 months).[12] Applicants stayed an average of 53 days in a ‘first phase’ centre before moving on to a ‘second phase’ reception place. In 2025, certain families needed to be housed in emergency accommodation due to a lack of available places in the normal first phase reception centres. The average stay of families in these emergency centres was 63 days in the NOC’s and 91 days in the youth centres, Bredene and Theux (see Types of accommodation).
Most applicants stay a considerable part of this period, or all of it, in collective reception centres. The law provides for accommodation to be adapted to the individual situation of the applicant,[13] but in practice places are primarily assigned according to availability and preferences under the reception model introduced in 2015 (see Forms and Levels of Material Reception Conditions).
[1] Articles 14-35 Reception Act.
[2] Fedasil, Stay in a Reception Centre, available here.
[3] Court of Auditors, Opvang van asielzoekers, October 2017, 47-48.
[4] Information provided by Fedasil, April 2026.
[5] Royal Decree on the system and operating rules in reception centres and the modalities for checking rooms, 2 September 2018.
[6] Odisee, ‘Being a child in an asylum center’, consulted on 17 March 2026, available here.
[7] De Standaard, ‘Katja Fournier researched the living conditions in reception centres for five years: “reception centers aggravate the trauma’s of asylum seekers”’, 11 December 2025, available in Dutch here.
[8] Flemish Children’s Rights Commissioner, ‘Rights on the threshold – yearly report 2024-2025’, available in Dutch here, 67 – 69.
[9] Information provided by Fedasil, April 2026.
[10] Fedasil, ‘Reception network for asylum seekers in Belgium’, 1 March 2026, available in Dutch here.
[11] Information provided by Fedasil, March 2026.
[12] Information provided by Fedasil, March 2026.
[13] Articles 11, 22, 28 and 36 Reception Act.