Following consultations with the Minister for Asylum and Migration, Maggie De Block, the Immigration Office has decided to temporarily stop registering new asylum seekers. Registrations normally take place at the arrival centre 'Petit-Château', which is therefore closing its doors and not accepting newcomers as of this Tuesday.

This decision follows a series of measures taken on March 12 by the National Security Council to counter the spread of coronavirus. The goal is to avoid that people gather outside the arrival centre or in the waiting rooms. The measure will be implemented until further notice.

In practice, it implies that new asylum seekers will not be received in our country as of this Tuesday.

Following this decision, the CGRS has put all hearings on hold until March 29.

This measure has no impact on the reception of people who have already applied for asylum in our country and are hosted in the reception network.