Promising matchmaking

The project

Upon receipt of a residence permit, migrants are permitted to relocate from the asylum reception center, to a pre-identified house somewhere in the Netherlands. Until 2017, migrants were relocated at random to receiving municipalities based on the availability of housing.  
Kansrijke Koppeling (or “promising matchmaking”) is an effort made by the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) to identify prior to relocation, the municipality (and subsequently the house) best suited to the profile of that individual. The initiative is built upon the assumption that when migrants reside in geographic locations that cater to their career ambitions, health needs, familial needs, network and educational needs, the individual is better placed to integrate faster than if they had been relocated to a village/town/city at random. When selecting the appropriate municipality for relocation, career ambitions are strongly considered, in order to optimize the labour market integration potential of migrants. 

Prior to relocation, COA captures the profiles of migrants (and their family members if part of a family unit) through discussions about their (educational) background and (work) experiences. This information then feeds into the matchmaking process using an online database that recognizes the migrant quota of each municipality. After a match with a municipality has been made, the COA staff and municipality exchange information to prepare for the migrant’s relocation, after which the municipality is responsible for identifying the appropriate home and facilitating further integration. 

The impact of the good practice

The information which the municipality receives from COA is sometimes considered by municipal staff to be too limited or superficial, but generally is perceived as a useful tool. However, concerns about data protection can sometimes limit optimal information sharing.  
The level of satisfaction with the matches varies. Sometimes the “regional advice” conflicts with other interests, primarily municipal quotas set by the national government indicating the minimum number of refugees to be housed in a particular municipality during a particular timeframe. As such the “regional advice” cannot always be followed. Needless to say, under Covid-19 pandemic conditions, there is a greater backlog on migrant relocation to municipalities, which is generating additional challenges for municipalities, COA and migrants on the waiting list for housing.