Congolese asylum seekers in Belgium have been told that asylum is not for people seeking a better life.
“Asylum is not intended for people seeking a better future for economic or financial reasons,” warned Anneleen Van Bossuyt the Belgian Minister of Asylum and Migration.
Anneleen Van Bossuyt made the remarks on Monday during a visit in the DRC capital, Kinshasa.
She revealed that the number of Congolese asylum seekers in Belgium has doubled in two years.
Applicants for asylum in Belgium have risen from 1,250 (in 2023) to 2,500 (in 2025), with more than 450 applications already registered in the first quarter of 2026, according to Anneleen Van Bossuyt.
The Belgian Minister noted that the Congolese asylum seekers comprised a variety of profiles and not only opponents of government as claimed by some people.
She also specified that in 2025, only 14% of the 2,500 applications were successful.
“Asylum seekers comprised a variety of profiles, the Belgian Minister said while responding to a press inquiry on the categories of asylum seekers that would be admitted in Belgium.
The Congolese press asked whether they (asylum applicants) were ordinary citizens, politicians, or political opponents in the DRC?
“Your question, regarding categories of people, whether it is mainly opponents or other people in fact, it is a large number of people, a wide variety of profiles and I can only note that only 14% receive asylum in Belgium so it is really a very low number who actually receive asylum in Belgium,” she replied to one of the press’s concerns.
“My perception of the Congolese people, after just one day here, is that I understand they want to seek a better future. But asylum is not for people seeking a better future for economic or financial reasons. The conditions for obtaining refugee status are clearly defined in the Geneva Convention. Economic or financial reasons are not among them. Asylum is for people who risk individual persecution and fear for their lives, not for economic or social reasons. I think it’s important to emphasize this,” the Belgian Minister said.
