Cabinet has plans to eventually force Syrian asylum seekers to return to their country
The Netherlands is planning on eventually forcing asylum seekers from Syria to return home, the Ministry of Asylum and Migration told RTL Nieuws. The ministry wants to follow Germany and Austria’s examples with this. Both countries recently announced that they are going to review all of the Syrian’s asylum status again.
Germany has announced that their intention is to send all Syrians back who cannot speak German or do not have a job.
"To be clear: we will focus on their return," the Ministry of Asylum said. The ministry is looking at voluntary return. "We will help Syrians who want to leave now to return where possible."
But the ministry also stated that just like Germany, they will move to forcing people to go back when that becomes possible.
A “moratorium” currently applies. No new asylum applications are processed but rejected asylum seekers do not have to leave either. No Syrians were returned in recent years because the country was not safe and the Netherlands had severed all diplomatic ties with the Assad regime.
But Syrian President Assad fled the country at the beginning of December after his dictatorship suddenly ended after a civil war that lasted over ten years and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.
The Ministry of Asylum and Migration will not be allowed to review the residence permits until the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declares that Syria or parts of Syria is safe. In addition, agreements must be made with those in power in Syria so that the country also accepts returned migrants.
The right-wing coalition parties in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch Parliament, all feel that Syrians should be sent back, although the tone of the politicians differs.
Geert Wilders, the leader of the largest political party in the country, the PVV, has tweeted several times that he wants as many Syrians to return to their country as possible. “Let them rebuild their own country,” he said.
The VVD and NSC also feel that the Syrians should return to their own country when the country is safe and stable.
But the opposition feels that the right-wing Cabinet is getting ahead of themselves. “The situation in Syria is still very unpredictable. The asylum minister Marjolein Faber and the PVV want to send these people back instantly without even knowing whether it is safe or not,” said D66 member of parliament Marijke Podt.
The D66 feels that the discussions are premature. “We all hope that Syria becomes a safe and democratic country, but until that time, we have to protect these people.”
There are currently around 150,000 Syrians living in the Netherlands.
