Summary - Starting over

This report provides more insight into the early integration of Syrians in the Netherlands. It focuses on six topics: family reunification and moving behaviour in the Netherlands, intentions to stay in the Netherlands, mental health, use of care, diversity in participation and sociocultural position. We attempt to shed light on the factors which can explain differences within the Syrian group and which characterise permit holders who have been in the Netherlands for only a short time: their lives before migration, their experiences during the flight from Syria, their time spent in a reception centre and the period thereafter.

Original title: Opnieuw beginnen

This report forms part of the Longitudinal Cohort Study of Asylum-seekers and Asylum Permit holders which is being carried out at the request of four Dutch ministries (Social Affairs and Employment; Justice and Security; Education, Culture and Science; and Health, Welfare and Sport). It is a collaboration between researchers from the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP), the Research and Documentation Centre (WODC), the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and Statistics Netherlands (CBS). We draw on survey research from 2017 (complemented by administrative register data from Statistics Netherlands) on the cohort of Syrians who received residency status between 1 January 2014 and 1 July 2016. We will continue to monitor progress in the integration of asylum permit holders over the coming years using new surveys, register data and qualitative research.

This is illustrated throughout with interactive figures. This publication also looks at differences in the ownership of media equipment. We draw on three measurement points from the Media:Time survey to explore changes in media use between 2013 and 2018 and the extent to which there was a shift from old to new media over that period.