The Journey Beyond Reception: Asylum Seekers’ Internal Migration Trajectories in Belgium

ABSTRACT Research on internal migrations of asylum seekers has focused on contexts of stringent dispersal policies and has highlighted that such policies are often not in line with the subsequent settlement of refugees. However, few studies adopt a quantitative and longitudinal approach to the matter in contexts of less stringent dispersal policies. We examine the internal migrations of asylum seekers and the role of the Belgian reception system. Drawing on National Register data, we use sequence analysis to describe the internal migration trajectories of asylum‐seeking migrants who arrived between 2012 and 2016. To assess the extent to which the place of reception allocated determines their subsequent moves, we compare them with migrants having similar sociodemographic profiles but who did not apply for asylum. Results show that asylum seekers are initially more dispersed across Belgium's territory compared to non‐asylum seekers and are overrepresented in rural areas and Wallonia. Their residential patterns later converge to those of non‐asylum seekers, with a concentration in urban Flanders and Brussels. Nonetheless, we find evidence that being assigned to a rural reception place at arrival slightly increases the chances of staying in rural municipalities. Additionally, being allocated to a reception place in one region significantly reduces the chances of moving to the opposite region. Although the Belgian reception system differs from countries often studied, the mismatch between reception policy and subsequent settlement is still observed, “delaying settlement in urban areas”.