The municipalities of Maasdriel, West Maas en Waal, and Zaltbommel are jointly responsible for the reception of refugees.

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They already agreed on this in early 2024 with a cooperation agreement. Now that all municipalities are required to submit their
reception plans to the province, these plans are becoming more concrete. In a letter
to the acting King's Commissioner of Gelderland, the three municipalities explain how
they intend to do this together.

  • The municipality of Maasdriel is committed to providing a location for approximately 40 unaccompanied minor foreign nationals (
    ).
  • The municipality of West Maas en Waal is looking for a location for 150 to 180 refugees.
  • The municipality of Zaltbommel is in talks with the COA (Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers) about a location that can be made suitable for emergency shelter for 168 refugees for a period of 5 years.

Mayor Bakermans of Zaltbommel, on behalf of the three municipalities: "Together, we are taking our
social responsibility by offering shelter. The asylum seekers' centers in
the Netherlands have been overcrowded for some time now, and there is a huge shortage of shelter. The humanitarian
need is great. Like many other municipalities in the Netherlands, we are offering a home to people who are
fleeing war and violence."

Next step: searching for locations


The municipalities must now start looking for suitable locations so that they can actually fulfill the task of providing
. As of July 1, 2025, these locations must be available to the COA so that
can be counted toward the Distribution Act. It is therefore not yet known when the reception locations
will actually open and at which locations. The municipalities are currently looking for suitable locations for asylum seekers and unaccompanied minor asylum seekers (
). This is, of course, being done in consultation with the COA. As soon as more information about the locations is available, the local community will be informed.