Court: No fine for undocumented EU migrant workers

A ruling made in a small trial in the court in Breda a few weeks ago, may have far reaching consequences for the state treasury. The court ruled that the owner of a house who had two undocumented Romanian workers pain the house in Roosendaal in 2013, does not have to pay the 9 thousand euro fine imposed on him, Trouw reports.

According to the judge, these two Romanians did not need a work permit. The court referred to a trade agreement between the Netherlands and Japan from 1912, which gives Japanese people free access to the Dutch labor market. The court found that workers from within the European Union should not be disadvantaged, which means that the two Romanians should be able to work without a permit.

This ruling may have major consequences. Over the past few years, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment has issued between 150 and 200 million euros in fines for more than 10 thousand undocumented migrant workers. If it turns out that they should not have been fined, the cabinet may have to pay large sums of money back.