Court: Dutch state has no legal basis to restrict asylum seeker’s family reunification

A judge in Haarlem issued a preliminary injunction against the Cabinet’s restriction on the family reunification of asylum seekers, saying the restriction has no basis in law. The Cabinet introduced the measure to temporarily limit the number of asylum seekers’ family members allowed to enter the Netherlands.

In a case about a Syrian woman who has been granted a residency permit in the Netherlands as an asylum seeker, the preliminary relief judge ruled that the woman’s Syrian family members must be immediately allowed to enter the Netherlands. The Cabinet’s six-month restriction on travel to the Netherlands in connection with family reunification is unlawful, the court determined. The immigration office responded soon after to say the family will quickly permission to enter the Netherlands.

The family members are currently staying in Sudan on a temporary visa that expires this week. Even though the woman has been granted a residence permit in the Netherlands, the family reunification measure means her children cannot receive a provisional residence permit until next April unless they find suitable accommodation in the Netherlands before that time.

The family members filed an official objection to the decision, and are awaiting a new decision from the state secretary. Meanwhile, the family members also filed a lawsuit while waiting for a decision from State Secretary Eric van der Burg on the matter. The state secretary handles issues related to the Cabinet’s policy on asylum and refugees.

The court did not agree with Van der Burg’s argument that the restriction on entering the Netherlands associated with family reunification is a statement of fact for which no legal basis is required. The court also ruled that the family reunification measure is in conflict with the Dutch Aliens Act and two provisions in the European Family Reunification Directive.

The judge ruled that the interests of the woman and the especially the six minor-aged children seeking reunification with their mother as soon as possible outweighs the state secretary’s interests with regard to handling the crisis in asylum reception. The court determined that the woman’s spouse and children must receive their temporary residence permits within 24 hours. They can then use these to travel to the Netherlands.

A spokesperson for the the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) said the office will immediately arrange a visa for the Syrian family to enter the Netherlands. In August, the Cabinet decided to delay family reunification, intended to limit the influx of asylum seekers. The measure requires family members to wait at least six months before they can join an asylum seeker who was granted residency rights.

Experts immediately after the Cabinet’s decision said that the measure was unlikely to hold up in court. The IND spokesperson would not predict the possible consequences of this ruling. Van der Burg also did not want to comment on the ramifications, he said through a spokesperson. The ministry will study the verdict, but pointed out that "this painful measure was not taken lightly.”

Already back in September, the Cabinet knew that the restriction on family reunification was “not certain,” said Van der Burg at the time. Still, he claimed that it was legally sound because of the safeguards the Cabinet built into the more restrictive temporary measure on entry into the country. He was not in favor of consulting the Council of State on the matter, despite insistence from Members of Parliament.