Armenian teen raised in Amsterdam allowed to stay after years of legal battle

Thirteen-year-old Armenian boy Mikael and his 56-year-old mother, Gohar Matosyan, will be allowed to remain in the Netherlands, ending a prolonged legal battle over their residency, one of Mikael’s lawyers confirmed Monday.

Mikael, born in the Netherlands in 2012 while his mother was staying in an asylum center, has never been to Armenia and attends a Dutch secondary school in Amsterdam. His mother arrived in the Netherlands in 2010 and had her asylum request rejected. Despite this, she remained in the country, and the family lived outside official reception centers after 2015 without notifying authorities of their location.

Last year, the Council of State ruled that Mikael did not qualify for the “child pardon,” citing the family’s failure to stay in contact with immigration authorities. In April, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) again denied their residency application, ordering them to leave the country.

The boy’s case drew nationwide attention when he faced deportation to Armenia, a country he had never visited. He was about to begin secondary school, and the prospect of leaving sparked protests from classmates, friends, and neighbors, while a 79-year-old activist staged a hunger strike in support of the boy.

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema and leaders of seven opposition parties appealed to then-Minister of Asylum and Migration Marjolein Faber to intervene. “Mikael is in the prime of his life and should not be the victim of residency regulations that may be legally correct, but where the human dimension is sometimes lost sight of,” Halsema wrote in a letter to Faber. Faber declined the appeal.

Mikael’s lawyers then explored another path to keep him in the Netherlands. His parents separated in 2018, and his father, who has a Dutch partner, obtained a residency permit. Mikael maintains a relationship with his father, who participates in raising him—a connection that could allow him to remain in the Netherlands under European treaties. The IND had initially rejected that application, arguing that most of Mikael’s care is provided by his mother and that his well-being is sufficiently guaranteed, even in Armenia.

The new decision allows Mikael and his mother to stay, citing his relationship with his father. “Mikael and his mother are thrilled and relieved that they can finally move forward with their lives, and grateful for the support so many people have given,” the lawyers said in a statement to ANP.

Halsema welcomed the ruling. “Very nice that this long period of fear and uncertainty is over and that Mikael can focus on his future. He can finally be a normal Dutch teenager,” she said on Instagram. Her post included a video of her listening to an audio message from Mikael’s mother sharing the news.

The mayor had earlier argued that “the desire to have fewer migrants in the Netherlands can never be so strong that it comes at the expense of an 11-year-old boy who knows no other country than the Netherlands.”