Netherlands · Area of law · Vreemdelingenrecht
Immigration law in the Netherlands: published decisions
In 2025, 16,353 published decisions carry the immigration law label (Vreemdelingenrecht) in the Netherlands, 16% more than in 2024. They come from 9 of the 19 courts, and Rechtbank Den Haag accounts for 84% of them. Together they make up 26% of the decisions published that year. These counts describe published case law, not the number of cases brought.
- Published decisions in 202516,353+16% over one year
- Share of all published decisions26%of the 64,124 decisions of the 19 courts
- Courts with decisions9 of 198 district courts, 0 courts of appeal, 1 highest court
- Largest countRechtbank Den Haag13,770 decisions, 84% of this area
Courts publishing these decisions
The table lists the courts whose published decisions in 2025 carry the immigration law label, with the number of decisions, the share of all decisions with this label and the weight of this area in each court's own published decisions.
In 2025, 16,353 published decisions carry this label, 16% more than in 2024, from 9 of the 19 courts. Rechtbank Den Haag accounts for 13,770 (84%), followed by Raad van State (2,562) and Rechtbank Rotterdam (6). By level, district courts account for 84%, the highest courts for 16%.
| Court | Level | Decisions 2025 | Share of this area | Share of the court's decisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rechtbank Den Haag | District court | 13,770 | 84% | 75% |
| Raad van State | Highest administrative court | 2,562 | 16% | 46% |
| Rechtbank Rotterdam | District court | 6 | under 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Rechtbank Midden-Nederland | District court | 5 | under 0.1% | under 0.1% |
| Rechtbank Noord-Nederland | District court | 3 | under 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Rechtbank Zeeland-West-Brabant | District court | 3 | under 0.1% | under 0.1% |
| Rechtbank Amsterdam | District court | 2 | under 0.1% | under 0.1% |
| Rechtbank Gelderland | District court | 1 | under 0.1% | under 0.1% |
| Rechtbank Oost-Brabant | District court | 1 | under 0.1% | under 0.1% |
Published decisions only: each court publishes a different share of its rulings, so these counts are not caseloads and cannot be compared as workloads.
Decisions year by year
This chart follows, year by year, the number of published decisions that carry the immigration law label. The volume measures what is published, not the number of cases brought in the same year.
Over the period, the number of published immigration law decisions went from 1,524 in 2013 to 16,353 in 2025. The yearly count ranged from 1,102 in 2014 to 16,353 in 2025. These decisions were 26% of all published decisions in 2025 and 6.4% in 2013.
- District courts
- Highest courts
| Year | District courts | Highest courts | Total | Share of all decisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 495 | 1,029 | 1,524 | 6.4% |
| 2014 | 415 | 687 | 1,102 | 4.5% |
| 2015 | 468 | 666 | 1,134 | 4.5% |
| 2016 | 625 | 593 | 1,218 | 4.8% |
| 2017 | 1,135 | 709 | 1,844 | 7% |
| 2018 | 1,533 | 1,055 | 2,588 | 9.3% |
| 2019 | 1,212 | 1,263 | 2,475 | 8.7% |
| 2020 | 2,741 | 896 | 3,637 | 10% |
| 2021 | 3,813 | 870 | 4,683 | 11% |
| 2022 | 4,023 | 1,751 | 5,774 | 13% |
| 2023 | 9,071 | 2,538 | 11,609 | 22% |
| 2024 | 11,478 | 2,640 | 14,118 | 25% |
| 2025 | 13,791 | 2,562 | 16,353 | 26% |
Series start in 2013, the first year of the current court map. The series reflect what courts publish and how decisions are labelled as well as what they decide.
Related areas
Each detailed area belongs to one of three broad groups of areas of law. The table sets immigration law beside the group it belongs to and the other detailed areas of that group.
Immigration law decisions are 42% of the 38,907 published in 2025 under the administrative law label. Other detailed areas of the group include tax law (5,173), social security law (3,996) and administrative procedure (2,505).
| Area of law | Decisions 2025 | Share of the group | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative law | 38,907 | – | +10% |
| Immigration law | 16,353 | 42% | +16% |
| Tax law | 5,173 | 13% | −3% |
| Social security law | 3,996 | 10% | −7% |
| Administrative procedure | 2,505 | 6.4% | +19% |
| Planning and environmental law | 2,001 | 5.1% | +28% |
| Civil service law | 116 | 0.3% | −28% |
| European administrative law | 3 | under 0.1% | – |
| Competition law (administrative) | 3 | under 0.1% | – |
A decision can carry several labels, so the detailed areas do not add up to the group.
Understanding these figures
What immigration law covers
Immigration law covers decisions about foreign nationals: asylum applications, residence permits, family reunification, border control, removal and immigration detention. The person concerned challenges the decision of the immigration authorities before a court. In 2025, 16,353 published decisions carried this label.
Which courts hear these cases
Challenges are heard first by a district court, and appeals go to the Council of State. In 2025, published decisions with this label came from 9 of the 19 courts.
A published selection
The figures count decisions published on rechtspraak.nl, the website of the Dutch judiciary, where each decision carries a European Case Law Identifier (ECLI). Courts publish only part of their rulings, and the share published differs from one court to another, from one area of law to another and from one year to the next. For immigration law, the published decisions of 2025 are those counted; they are not the number of cases brought.
How areas of law are labelled
Each published decision carries one or more area-of-law labels. There are three broad groups, administrative law, civil law and public international law, and, within them, detailed areas such as tax law or family law. A decision can carry several labels, and some carry only a broad one, so the detailed areas do not add up to their group and counts for different areas cannot be added together.
Reading these figures with care
The number of published immigration law decisions depends on how many cases reach the courts and on what the courts publish in this field. In 2025, Rechtbank Den Haag alone published 84% of them, so the national count largely reflects the publication of that court. The number of detailed area labels per published decision went from 0.46 in 2013 to 0.73 in 2025, so the evolution of a detailed area also reflects how often these labels are applied. The data hold counts only, with no outcome and no time to judgment, and no statistic can predict the outcome of a particular case.
Frequently asked questions
How many immigration law decisions were published in the Netherlands in 2025?
In 2025, 16,353 decisions published on rechtspraak.nl carried the immigration law label, 16% more than in 2024. They come from 9 of the 19 courts covered here and make up 26% of all decisions published that year.
Which Dutch courts publish immigration law decisions?
In 2025, Rechtbank Den Haag published 13,770 of them, followed by Raad van State (2,562) and Rechtbank Rotterdam (6). District courts account for 84% of the decisions, courts of appeal for 0% and the highest courts for 16%.
Has the number of published immigration law decisions changed over time?
The number of published immigration law decisions went from 1,524 in 2013 to 16,353 in 2025. Their share of all published decisions went from 6.4% in 2013 to 26% in 2025.
What does immigration law cover?
Immigration law covers decisions about foreign nationals: asylum applications, residence permits, family reunification, border control, removal and immigration detention.
Do these figures show how many immigration law cases are brought?
No. They count decisions published on rechtspraak.nl, a selection of all rulings, and a case can produce several decisions. The counts describe published case law, not the number of cases brought.