Hoekstra: first investigation into fast visa for earthquake victims

The Cabinet is not opposed to the accelerated issuance of visas for earthquake victims, but first wants to investigate in more detail how the measure would work, said Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said on Sunday's WNL broadcast.

Germany and Belgium have already taken steps to speed up the issuance of visas for victims. This will allow Turks and Syrians in the affected region to temporarily visit family or friends in those countries. At least 1,5 million people in Turkey have been left homeless. Most of them are housed in tent camps, but not everyone has a place to stay.

The minister said the Cabinet wants to explore "all side paths" to help affected Turks and Syrians. But first he wants to know exactly how Germany and Belgium have designed their approach. He did not say when the Cabinet would make a decision.

A visa is valid for three months. Hoekstra said it was "an illusion" that the problems caused by the earthquake could be solved within "a few weeks or months." "It will take years to rebuild the country," he said.

On Saturday, the PvdA put a parliamentary question to the Cabinet on whether the Netherlands will also issue expedited visas for earthquake victims.

On Twitter, PvdA MP Kati Piri asked if “the Cabinet will relax visa policy so that people can be temporarily accommodated with relatives in the Netherlands.”