A leaked transparency report seen by Belgian daily De Standaard reveals that 20 % of Belgium’s 105 reception facilities for asylum seekers—and fully 50 % of those directly managed by the Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (Fedasil)—fail to meet the agency’s own space and privacy benchmarks. The findings were confirmed by Fedasil on 22 November.
Inspectors documented overcrowded dormitories where unrelated families share rooms, mould problems and inadequate sanitation. The shortcomings come as Belgium struggles with record asylum inflows amid constrained municipal budgets and protracted coalition talks at the federal level.
![Audit Finds Half of Fedasil-Run Asylum Centres Below Minimum Standards]()
Why it matters for global mobility: reception bottlenecks ripple into family-reunification timelines and municipal registration appointments that foreign assignees rely on when bringing dependants to Belgium. Slower throughput at Fedasil facilities also prolongs work-permit processing for asylum seekers allowed to take up employment after six months.
The government has pledged €150 million for emergency renovations and is negotiating with regional authorities to convert unused army barracks and student dorms into temporary accommodation. However, NGOs warn that without structural funding and faster asylum adjudication, Belgium risks fresh court fines for failing to provide shelter—penalties that already exceed €300,000 this year.
Corporate immigration advisers are reminding employers to initiate single-permit procedures early and to budget extra time for dependants’ visas, especially if families are likely to be housed in crowded centres that complicate document retrieval and health-screening appointments.
Inspectors documented overcrowded dormitories where unrelated families share rooms, mould problems and inadequate sanitation. The shortcomings come as Belgium struggles with record asylum inflows amid constrained municipal budgets and protracted coalition talks at the federal level.
Why it matters for global mobility: reception bottlenecks ripple into family-reunification timelines and municipal registration appointments that foreign assignees rely on when bringing dependants to Belgium. Slower throughput at Fedasil facilities also prolongs work-permit processing for asylum seekers allowed to take up employment after six months.
The government has pledged €150 million for emergency renovations and is negotiating with regional authorities to convert unused army barracks and student dorms into temporary accommodation. However, NGOs warn that without structural funding and faster asylum adjudication, Belgium risks fresh court fines for failing to provide shelter—penalties that already exceed €300,000 this year.
Corporate immigration advisers are reminding employers to initiate single-permit procedures early and to budget extra time for dependants’ visas, especially if families are likely to be housed in crowded centres that complicate document retrieval and health-screening appointments.
