azc Musselkanaal (De Brink)
The asylum centre on De Brink in Musselkanaal is often cited as a rare success story, having operated for decades with little friction in the village. When the government announced its closure in 2018 as part of nationwide cutbacks, residents and businesses protested to keep it open, arguing the centre supported local jobs and livability; it later reopened in 2020 after the village negotiated conditions on who would be housed there.
Occupancy
649
people (Aug 2025)
Per night
€80
per person (benchmark)
Annual
€19m
estimated
Background
The site sits at De Brink, Musselkanaal. It is run by the COA (Centraal Orgaan opvang asielzoekers), the Dutch government’s asylum-reception agency. For what the azc / noodopvang categories mean and how Dutch reception spending breaks down, open the cost panel on the interactive map with the Netherlands selected in Settings.
In the news
May 2018
Musselkanaal residents rise up against closure of AZC
Residents of Musselkanaal opposed the planned closure of their asylum centre, which had been part of the village for around 25 years, arguing it provided employment and strengthened the local community and economy.
EenVandaag · source
2026
Protests around asylum centres everywhere, but Musselkanaal embraces it: 'never any trouble'
Musselkanaal is presented as an exception to the protests seen elsewhere, with roughly three decades of an asylum centre and calm in the village, which residents attribute to dialogue and conditions agreed with the municipality.
Hart van Nederland · source
Compiled from public Dutch news reports (each item links to its source). Where a municipality runs more than one reception location, attribution to this specific address reflects the cited report and may be approximate — always check the linked source.
Timeline
May 2018
Residents protest planned closure
When the government moved to close the long-standing Musselkanaal centre amid national cutbacks, residents and businesses campaigned to keep it open.
Sep 2020
Centre reopens under conditions
The De Brink centre reopened after the village negotiated conditions on the number and profile of residents.
Cost
Dutch asylum reception is funded by central government through the COA. At an illustrative benchmark of about €80 per person per night for a regular centre, the 649 people recorded here on 13 August 2025 imply roughly €19m per year. This is an order-of-magnitude figure for context only, not a site-specific invoice — emergency reception typically runs around three times the cost of a regular centre.
Sources
COA / Rijksoverheid (Kamerstuk, 5 Sep 2025) · 2025-08-13. View source
Occupancy is the COA register snapshot of 13 August 2025 and may have changed since. Coordinates were geocoded from the published street address via the official PDOK Locatieserver.