Last week on the NOS Radio 1 news: Syrian asylum seekers who received a residence permit between 2014 and 2016 had a bad start in society. Due to the many moves and the long stay in shelters, they had a smaller chance of (paid) work than asylum seekers who stayed in shelters for a shorter period. The negative effects of this are still noticeable years later, research shows.

The research was conducted by the Scientific Research and Data Centre (WODC), Erasmus University, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and RIVM.

 A representative group of war refugees from Syria was followed for a long time for the research. The situation of these Syrians is partly comparable to that of asylum seekers in the shelter now, says researcher Kasper Otten. "Although it seems that asylum seekers now have to stay in the shelter even longer.

 The duration of the stay in COA locations, the number of moves during the reception period and the completion of the integration process all influence the speed at which status holders move from social assistance to work.

 Two years noticeable

 Every additional month a male asylum seeker stays in shelters slows down the speed at which he finds a job, the study shows. These effects are still noticeable two years after leaving shelter.

 Women who have moved twice have a 34 percent lower chance of leaving welfare (for work) than women who have not moved during the shelter period. Men who have moved three or more times have a 32.3 percent lower chance of leaving welfare than men who have not moved. These differences are still noticeable up to seven years later.

 Below level

 That Syrian status holders often work below their level, was already apparent from previous research . Now research has also been done into the effect of integration policy, reception policy and distribution policy on the chances of work, participation in society and mental health.

Those who spend a long time in shelters start integrating later and get work later. Due to the long wait, people lose skills and knowledge. In addition, there are also physical consequences such as wear and tear and aging, the researchers say.

They therefore advocate a shorter reception period and the active provision of daytime activities in the reception, such as (guidance to) work or volunteer work. This advice is at odds with the plans of the government, which advocates ' reduced reception locations '.

"Active reception, with the opportunity to take language lessons, work or do volunteer work, has a long-term positive effect on learning the Dutch language and increases the chance of employment," says WODC researcher Otten.

 Large regional differences

 As a result of the Syrian civil war, thousands of refugees come to the Netherlands every year. If the Syrians are allowed to stay in the Netherlands, they are assigned a place to live. They cannot decide for themselves where they will live.

 This government distribution policy means that not every status holder has an equal chance of finding a paid job, the study shows. The number of available (and suitable) jobs differs per region. Status holders are best off living in regions where the chance of a job is the greatest.

Source: NOS. Click here for the radio fragment in which Kasper Otten, researcher at the WODC, talks about this research in the NOS Radio 1 Journaal.