Netherlands to grant asylum to most Afghan women and girls under new policy

Afghan women and girls seeking asylum in the Netherlands are now more likely to receive permission to remain in the country. Following a decision by Asylum Minister Bart van den Brink, they will qualify for a residence permit “in the vast majority of cases,” his ministry said.

The CDA politician made the decision after Foreign Ministry officials warned that conditions for women and girls under Taliban rule had worsened even further. Afghanistan introduced a so-called “morality law” in the summer of 2024, limiting women’s freedom of movement and reducing their opportunities for development.

Afghan women were already more likely to obtain a residence permit if they could not adhere to Taliban regulations and risked persecution as a result. Van den Brink said he changed the policy wording because he felt it no longer adequately reflected conditions in Afghanistan.

A total of 760 Afghans submitted asylum applications in the Netherlands in 2025 under the policy that had been in place until now. The figure was 490 in 2024, compared with 670 applications in 2023.

The decision by Minister Van den Brink is based on a newly issued and detailed report by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, covering developments between June 2023 and October 2025.

Dutch asylum policy faced strong criticism in late 2025 after the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) and then minister David van Weel rejected asylum applications from several Afghan women. Van Weel said at the time that women could, in theory, “adjust” to life under the regime.

After intense public backlash and a series of legal challenges, the IND reversed course in early 2026 and ultimately granted residence permits to four Afghan women.