Right-wing Cabinet’s €40 mil. asylum screening office closed after a year; 120 jobs cut
The Identification and Screening Service for Asylum Seekers (DISA), a special branch of the Ministry of Justice and Security, is being dissolved. The Cabinet has decided that the tasks of this agency will be transferred back to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND). As a result, the organization will simply cease to exist.
The government spent roughly 40 million euros on DISA and its systems in a short time, covering staff and a new computer system for biometric data. Some insiders describe it as “taxpayer money thrown away,” given that the agency is now being dismantled.
The DISA was created in January 2025. It handled the identification of new asylum seekers, collected biometric data like fingerprints and facial scans, and screened information before transferring cases to the IND. The agency was set up to ease the burden on the police, who had managed these registration and identification tasks until late 2024.
DISA will cease its operations around June 12, after which the IND will resume responsibility for screening and identifying asylum seekers. The ministry emphasized that the agency was always meant to be temporary, and that the IND is the “most logical” body to carry on this work.
The IND’s new role, taking over from DISA, is internally called Reception and Preparation (OVA). It covers both registration and the newly required “domestic screening” at Ter Apel.
DISA’s closure is directly tied to the rollout of the new European Asylum Pact. Starting June 12, stricter EU rules will govern the screening of asylum seekers at both external borders and within member states. The IND will assume DISA’s responsibilities to consolidate these procedures under one central authority.
The closure has significant implications for staff. Around 120 DISA employees at sites like Ter Apel and Budel will lose their jobs, as they will not be absorbed by the IND. The ministry stated that, where possible, employees will receive mobility arrangements under the labor agreement and guidance in finding new positions.
Employees are outraged and feel betrayed, especially given that the agency had existed for just over a year and substantial public funds were spent on its infrastructure and systems.
