More asylum seekers allowed to skip detention centre

Asylum seekers whose application to stay in Belgium will likely be approved will henceforth spend no more than five to 10 days in a detention centre, report Het Nieuwsblad and De Standaard. They will instead go directly to a local social welfare centre to begin the integration procedure.

The aim of the new reception model - which was already stipulated in the coalition agreement but could not yet be enforced due to the refugee crisis - is for social workers to help asylum seekers become integrated into Belgian society more quickly.

"And, conversely, those who remain in detention centres know what awaits them," a spokesperson for state secretary for asylum and migration Theo Francken told the newspapers. “No more false hope; we'll be able to work faster on returning them to their countries of origin.”