Caretaker Dutch gov’t wants to make asylum much more difficult for people from Syria
The caretaker Dutch government is about to make it much more difficult for Syrians to qualify for asylum in the Netherlands. Syria can be declared safe for many more Syrians to return to, so a new policy will be introduced for all current and future asylum applications submitted by people from Syria, caretaker Minister David van Weel (VVD) wrote in a letter to parliament, NOS reports.
“Due to the fall of the Assad regime, the previously general principle of policy that Syrians run a real risk of serious harm upon return can be abandoned,” Van Weel said.
That means that all Syrians who apply for asylum in the Netherlands will have to prove that they, personally, are unsafe in their country of origin. They’ll have to demonstrate real risks of harm and violence upon their return, Van Weel wrote. He mentioned the LGBTQIA+ community, but added that the immigration service IND always makes an individual assessment. Up until now, Syria was considered unsafe in general, meaning that Syrians were almost automatically granted asylum.
The government also decided to temporarily freeze the already ongoing asylum procedures of approximately 17,000 Syrians. They will also fall under the new policy.
Syrian refugees, who already have a residency permit in the Netherlands, will not be sent back for the time being. But the government is increasing the financial support for those who want to return to Syria voluntarily.
According to Van Weel, the decision is based on an official report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the situation in Syria. The report dates from a while ago, but Van Weel felt that now was “the moment to make the decision public.”
Van Weel took over responsibility for Asylum and Migration after PVV leader Geert Wilders toppled the Schoof I Cabinet and withdrew his PVV Ministers. Marjolein Faber (PVV) was Minister of Asylum and Migration before the Cabinet fell.
The asylum file is considered a bit of a prize with the campaigns for the new parliamentary elections ahead. All three remaining coalition parties want the file to show voters that they can achieve more than the PVV. In previous Cabinets, Asylum fell under the Ministry of Justice and Security, which is why Van Weel (VVD) is temporarily responsible for it while the coalition figures out who to place in the position.
