New Cabinet: All parties want stricter return policy for asylum seekers

Regardless of which Cabinet is formed, all parties want a stricter return policy for asylum seekers who have exhausted all legal remedies and a crackdown on nuisance-causing asylum seekers. This is evident from the election manifestos of ten parties, including the five largest parties, VVD, NSC, GroenLinks-PvdA, PVV, and BBB.

VVD, NSC, BBB, and CDA want to reintroduce a two-status system that distinguishes between people who are persecuted because of their political views, religion, or sexual orientation and people fleeing war or violence. The first group can always apply for asylum. The second group is temporarily accommodated and must return as soon as it is safe in their country of origin.

Until the turn of the century, the Netherlands worked with two categories of refugees. One of the frequently cited objections to a dual status system is that war refugees will go to court to obtain a different status that gives them a longer right of residence.

NSC and BBB want to admit a maximum number of migrants. NSC speaks of a target number of 50,000 people per year. This applies to all migrants, including knowledge workers as well as migrant workers and students. The BBB wants to take in a maximum of 15,000 asylum seekers per year. The VVD does not give a specific figure but wants to "significantly reduce" the influx. The PVV wants a freeze on asylum.

However, these figures are not realistic. In 2022, 46,460 asylum seekers and latecomers arrived in the Netherlands, and net migration amounted to more than 220,000 people last year.

GroenLinks-PvdA, D66, PvdD, ChristenUnie, and Volt want nothing to do with this. "We can manage the reception of refugees if we make the system fairer and solve the problems that undermine support," says GL-PvdA. Tough action must be taken against asylum seekers who cause nuisance, and the return policy for asylum seekers who have exhausted all legal remedies must be stricter. "In order to maintain support for the reception of refugees, it is important that people who have no right to stay here are quickly returned to their country of origin," says GroenLinks-PvdA.

The parties of the left want European control of migration. The VVD, NSC, BBB, and PVV no longer believe in this. Therefore, the VVD and PVV are considering withdrawing from EU regulations on asylum and migration. The NSC does not rule out this step.

An opt-out, particularly in the area of migration, is extremely delicate and difficult to agree on in the EU. Among other things, it would require a change to the European treaties. If one of the Member States opposes an asylum opt-out for the Netherlands, the Netherlands will have no choice but to remain bound by European asylum rules.

Family reunification is a sensitive issue for all parties. The fourth Rutte Cabinet has failed in this area of asylum policy. The NSC, VVD, and CDA want to limit family reunification to the nuclear family: a spouse (reference) and minor children. These parties want an end to "reunification", which means more family members coming to the Netherlands.

GL-PvdA, D66, and CU do not want to question the current European guidelines on family reunification. These are based on the nuclear family but allow member states to extend the nuclear family to include adult unmarried children.