Underage asylum seekers convicted of serious crimes will lose residency faster

An underage refugee can lose his asylum permit more quickly after a conviction for a serious offense against public order, such as public violence or membership in a terrorist organization. Minister Marjolein Faber of Asylum and Migration wants to complete this change within two weeks.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) can currently only revoke an asylum permit from a minor if certain conditions are met. The person must have been convicted under adult law, and the sentence must be at least six months. Faber cannot say how many minors are involved in such serious crimes each year.

She is going to remove these conditions from the Foreign Nationals Circular so that the permit can be refused or revoked. "The lawyers at my ministry and the IND have looked at this very seriously because we cannot have this not being correct," the minister said before the start of the Cabinet meeting.

It is still being investigated when the IND can start sending back convicted minors according to the new rules. The IND will draw up guidelines for which serious offenses are involved for which people can lose their permits, according to the minister.

Part of the reason for the tightening is a gang rape last year in Helmond involving underage asylum seekers. Four teenagers were sentenced this week to a maximum of fifteen months in juvenile detention, of which three months were conditional. A suspect who was guilty of sexual assault was sentenced to four months in juvenile detention.

"Especially after the incident in Helmond, I am completely fed up with the fact that we cannot revoke the asylum permit in such cases," the minister said in a statement. "There is simply no place for this scum in the Netherlands," she said at the Catshuis before the start of the cabinet meeting. It concerns minors who commit serious crimes, not people "who steal a roll of licorice."

Research by the Scientific Research and Data Center (WODC) showed that 8 percent of minors in asylum reception centers were suspected of a crime in 2021. "In the general Dutch population, the share of unique minor suspects was 11 percent in 2021," according to the WODC.