Belgium resettled 487 refugees in 2024, mainly Congolese refugees from Rwanda and Syrian refugees from Turkey. Although the initial commitment of 500 resettled persons was narrowly missed, it was better achieved than in 2023, when our country resettled around 287 persons.

Of the persons resettled, 84% were families, while 16% were isolated men or women. Also noteworthy: some 40% were under 18.

• You can find all the figures here (French, PDF)

The Fedasil center in Alveringem (West Flanders), which is exclusively dedicated to the reception of resettled persons, received no fewer than 400 of the 487 refugees. The reception centres of Pondrôme and Saint-Trond also accompanied resettled persons.

Via Community Sponsorhip or partnerships, several resettled persons were also received outside the reception network, thanks to the support of partner organisations and volunteers.

Other legal migration pathways

In addition to coordinating the resettlement programme, our Agency played a role – together with other partners – in further rolling out other legal migration pathways in 2024, including through pilot projects around labour and student migration.

Resettlement is an international programme run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) which involves selecting and transferring migrants from a State where they have sought protection to another State which agrees to receive them as refugees. Since the beginning of the Belgian programme, 5,275 refugees have already been resettled. Resettlement is a safe and legal migration pathway for people in need of international protection.

The Belgian resettlement program is financed by European funds (AMIF fund).