Six asylum centres around the country are now set to close. The reason behind is that cases are being processed much faster and that more rejected asylum seekers voluntarily have left the country compared to last year.

According to Politiken newspaper the number of asylum seekers living in the centres has dropped from 6246 to 5300 within a few months.

The Danish Immigration Service has therefore decided to close communal centers in Rødby, Skive and Frederikshavn and Red Cross is closing centres in Ebeltoft, Sigerslev and Auderød in the north of Sjælland.

The centres are closing despite the fact that Denmark in 2013 experienced the highest number of asylum seekers in the past ten years.

According to the Danish Immigration Service 7540 people applied for asylum in 2013, which is a large increase from 6184 people in 2012 and compared to 2011 when only 3806 asylum seekers entered the country. The number of successful applicants has in a year increased from 2583 to 3840.

Red Cross content with faster process
Anna la Cour, the head of asylum for the Red Cross in Denmark, is content that the asylum seekers now are spending less time in the centres.

“The cases are in general being processed faster. We are very happy about that because it is a great advantage for the asylum seekers,” she said to the Copenhagen Post.

She adds that it is difficult to predict whether the number of asylum seekers in the centres will drop even further.

“I cannot rule out that we would close even more centres and our center in Ebeltoft is put in a state of readiness so it can be opened again,” la Cour explained.