Netherlands won't send asylum seekers back to Iran for the time being

The government has implemented a pause in decision-making on asylum applications from Iranians, according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice and Security. No Iranian asylum seekers will be forcibly returned to Iran for the time being.

The government is not implementing a formal suspension on decisions and deportations, the spokesperson said. However, Iranians can stay in the Netherlands for now regardless of their formal residency status.

The Ministry will continue to closely monitor the situation “to determine whether further steps are necessary.” It is not yet known how long the pause will be in effect.

In a letter to parliament dated January 20, David van Weel, then the Minister of Asylum and Migration, wrote that forced returns to Iran “rarely” occur “because the Iranian authorities do not issue (replacement) travel documents for this purpose.”

He wrote the letter before the war in Iran broke out, but after the Iranian regime violently suppressed mass protests. The letter also stated that the government would not change the policy for Iranian asylum seekers.

VluchtelingenWerk Nederland, the Dutch Council for Refugees, called the Ministry’s position untenable. Earlier on Monday, the organization urged the government to halt the deportations to Iran and offer protection for Iranians who criticize the Iranian regime.

“Iranian asylum seekers who have expressed opposition in Iran or the Netherlands, or would wish to express this upon return, should be granted asylum,” the organization said.