Living at the reception centre while waiting for a home
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Do you have an asylum residence permit and are you waiting for a home at the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA)? On this page you can read important information for your situation.
You will continue to live in the reception centre until you get a home
After you receive an asylum residence permit from the 
These are your rights and duties in the reception centre
If you already have a residence permit, you keep your right to COA facilities. Such as:
You receive living and eating money from COA. You cannot yet apply for your own benefit. You can only do so when you move into your own home.
Reimbursement for your care will continue through COA. You fall under the
Also, the obligation to report to COA still applies to you. This means that you must report to COA once a week.
You can, however, apply for family reunification
Has your application for a residence permit been approved and do you want family members to come to the Netherlands? Then you must apply for family reunification within 3 months after you received your asylum residence permit. The IND will decide whether your family members may come to the Netherlands.
Sometimes it takes a long time until there is a home for you, if you are still living in COA's reception centre when the IND decides that your family can come to the Netherlands. Your family can then come to the Netherlands already. They will then also stay in COA's reception centre.
You can stay with a host family
If you have an asylum residence permit and are waiting for a home of your own, you can stay temporarily with a host family. This host family can consist of friends, family or even unknown people who have applied to be a host family. If COA approves your application for lodging, you do not have a reporting obligation in the reception centre during the lodging.
