Launch of video on Homelessness among asylum seekers in Brussels

STATEMENT

FEANTSA, together with its members at Samusocial and their partners BelRefugees and Cover, produced a short video highlighting the urgent and growing issue of homelessness among asylum seekers in Brussels.

At the heart of this situation are thousands of individuals, among them families with children, striving for safety and stability but trapped in a cycle of uncertainty. Through this video, we aim to bring forward people’s voices and raise awareness of the struggles they face every day, including after they have reached a European country – in this case, Belgium – and have submitted an asylum claim.

FEANTSA is extremely grateful to all the speakers in the video for sharing their insights on the situation in Brussels as well as to the Mobile Team of Samusocial for having us on their outreach work. We especially thank Ahmed for sharing with us his journey from war-torn Gaza to how he was confronted with having to sleep on the streets in Brussels. Special thanks also go to the group of Palestinian men who allowed us to film inside the building where they were squatting after submitting an asylum application and being put on a waiting list for accommodation.

Homelessness among applicants for international protection has been reported in several countries in Europe, making the lack of reception, including accommodation and housing, a European issue. In the past several years, EU countries have failed to ensure access to material reception conditions as foreseen in European and national law, forcing applicants to sleep on the streets on repeated occasions.

As of November 2024, Ireland was unable to accommodate over 2,900 asylum seekers which led to makeshift tent encampments in Dublin city and hundreds of people forced to sleep on the streets. Overcrowded conditions in refugee camps in Greece and limited housing support lead to significant homelessness among asylum seekers. In 2020, 1,300 asylum seekers were living in tents and 1,524 in makeshift shelters. In France, there are many asylum seekers among those sleeping in informal settlements at the margins of the big cities. The estimation is that one in two asylum seekers will not have access to the reception system. Individuals are often turned away and, lacking a support network, will turn to the national homeless shelters or to informal settlements. The Spanish asylum system has also been overwhelmed: a 2019 survey showed that 26.6% of the 300 people interviewed had slept in the street at some point after arriving, a problem which persisted in 2022. Italy has also faced limited capacity in reception facilities and delays in access to asylum procedures, often forcing individuals to live on the streets, particularly in larger cities like Rome and Milan. In the Netherlands, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights noted in 2022 that hundreds slept rough outside the Ter Apel registration centre.

In Belgium, for almost three years, asylum seekers who applied for international protection have been denied shelter. Starting with 2021, Belgium has systematically failed to ensure a dignified reception for people in search of international protection, leaving thousands of applicants to their own devices for finding accommodation. Throughout the years, concerns increased for contempt of the rule of law concerning the lack of compliance with EU and Belgian Reception Law. Belgium and Fedasil have ignored the implementation of thousands of convictions by domestic courts which ruled that they should provide asylum seekers with material support and shelter.

The situation has only worsened since 2021, reaching the point where it has been denounced as a ‘humanitarian crisis’, especially concerning the health status of applicants and their access to accommodation:

Over 7,000 asylum seekers in Brussels remain homeless, with shelters at capacity.
In August 2024, more than 3.900 asylum seekers (mainly single men) were still on the Fedasil waiting list.
Families make up 30% of those affected. Over 40% report deteriorating mental and physical health due to unstable living conditions.
Families with young children, even babies, and unaccompanied minors were also sleeping rough.

The winter of 2024-2025 has intensified the challenges faced by people experiencing homelessness in Brussels, including asylum seekers, as temperatures have dropped well below 0 degrees Celsius. Starting with the 7th of January, the ‘Extreme cold’ plan was activated within the ‘Brussels Deal’ framework. This meant the opening of an additional 160 additional sleeping places.

While emergency measures provide temporary relief, the need for structural solutions to address the root causes of homelessness among asylum seekers in Brussels persists. The Belgian government should take all measures needed to ensure that no person in search of international protection has to face homelessness. Among measures that need to be implemented are increasing reception capacity, streamlining asylum procedures, and ensuring compliance with legal obligations to provide shelter to those entitled.

_{Press contact: freek.spinnewijn@feantsa.org, Freek Spinnewijn, Director of FEANTSA}
_{For information on FEANTSA’s work on migration: simona.barbu@feantsa.org, Simona Barbu, Policy Officer}