PvdA wants accelerated visa for earthquake victims

The PvdA wants Turkish and Syrian victims of last week’s earthquakes to be able to obtain visas more quickly so that they can temporarily stay with relatives in the Netherlands. The party is asking if State Secretary Eric van der Burg (Asylum) will follow Belgium and Germany in this.

PvdA MP Kati Piri pointed out that many Dutch people have relatives in the hard-hit areas. Together with fellow party members Attje Kuiken and Songül Mutluer, she wants to know from the state secretary what contact he has with other countries to coordinate the visa policy and whether other countries are already taking steps.

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

In Turkey, more than 1,5 million people have become homeless by the severe earthquakes. About 1,1 million people have been sheltered in tent camps or other temporary shelters, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. At least 21,848 people were killed in Turkey and the death toll in Syria stands at more than 3,500.