Dutch immigration service facing growing backlog

The Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) is facing a rapidly increasing backlog in processing asylum applications. According to the refugees’ council VluchtelingenWerk Nederland, some 6,000 asylum seekers are waiting longer than the legally permitted time for a decision on whether they can stay - six times more than in January. VluchtelingenWerk worries that an even bigger asylum crisis is looming and calls on State Secretary Eric van der Burg (Asylum) to intervene.

The IND confirmed the delays in processing asylum applications. “The IND has been struggling for months with a growing number of asylum applications. Delayed migration has picked up since lifting coronavirus measures and travel restrictions. The influx from Syria remains high, and the unrest in Afghanistan led to many extra applications last year. Of the asylum applications now being processed, over a third are outside the legal decision period of six months,” the service said.

“The IND is looking for new colleagues who can help us in the questioning and decision-making process, among other things.” According to a spokesperson, the service is doing everything it can to prevent asylum seekers from having to wait too long for a decision, but it is not always possible.

According to VluchtelingenWerk, a total of 26,000 asylum applications are waiting for an assessment by the IND. “VluchtelingenWerk sees that more and more asylum seekers are struggling with mental health problems due to a completely hopeless situation. They feel that they have to live in a dark tunnel without perspective. The IND does not answer questions by phone or email or answers them very late,” said a spokesperson for VluchtelingenWerk.

Backlogs at the IND became so high in 2020 that the government set up a special task force to clear them. That task force was disbanded at the end of last year. “It is very worrying that the backlog is increasing again in the middle of a reception crisis. This threatens to become a crisis on top of a crisis,” VluchtelingenWerk said. The organization referred to the situation at the asylum registration center in Ter Apel, where people regularly slept in chairs or tents over the past weeks because there was no room.

The aid organization called on the State Secretary to devise an emergency plan to eliminate the backlog “before the situation gets out of hand again.” “The IND has been struggling for some time with a shortage of (experienced) personnel to handle asylum applications on time. This is partly due to a lack of structural funding, which means the service has to say goodbye to personnel too quickly.”

VluchtelingenWerk also asked the IND to provide asylum seekers more clarity about their situation. “Just visiting a location to explain why everything is taking so long can make a huge difference.”