As in previous winters, Fedasil can temporarily make use of various sites to accommodate asylum seekers - these sites are generally unoccupied outside the tourist season.

The augmentation of the reception capacity is necessary given the shortage of places — almost 2,800 asylum seekers (single men) are currently listed on the waiting list to receive a place in our reception network.

Bredene and Theux

The Fedasil centre in Bredene (Flanders) has been open since 23 October 2024. Reception is organised in a building used to accommodate school groups. The site has a capacity of 238 places and will be used by Fedasil until mid-March 2025. This building has already been used by Fedasil during previous crises (2015, 2019, 2022 and 2023), each time for a period of a few months.

The centre in Theux (Wallonia) opens this week. It is a campsite that can accommodate 250 asylum seekers. The site is available for six months, until March 2025. The Theux campsite has already been used as a temporary reception centre between 2019 and 2021, then again during the winters of 2022-2023 and 2023-2024.

Record capacity

At the beginning of November, Fedasil’s reception network counted 35,800 places in 107 collective centres, emergency or temporary reception centres and individual places managed by Public Centres for Social Welfare (CPAS/OCMW) and NGOs.

The current capacity of 35,800 places is a record for Belgium. However, more places are needed to accommodate all the asylum seekers who are entitled to reception.