THE HAGUE, 18/10/03 - In the period from May through August, 4,338 asylum applications were received in the Netherlands, 26 percent fewer than in the same period last year (5,838).

Compared with the first four months of 2003, the numbers were down 17 percent. The drop mainly reflected a fall in applications from Iraq, Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk told the Lower House on Friday. There were 63,233 asylum-seekers in reception centers on 1 September.

Between May and September, 6,736 rejected asylum-seekers were expelled from the country or requested to arrange their own departure, compared with 8,501 in the first four months of 2003. This decline was due to caution on expulsions because for many people, it was first necessary to investigate whether they were eligible for the one-off amnesty giving certain rejected asylum-seekers a residence permit after all.

The number of illegal immigrants (who had not requested asylum) asked to leave the Netherlands or actually expelled rose to 11,236 from 9,294 a year earlier. Verdonk did not however report on how the figures compared with those in the first four months of 2003.