The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) must again process asylum applications within the statutory period of six months. If this deadline is not met, the IND must pay a penalty to asylum seekers who have to wait too long. Since January 2024, 18,250 applications have been open.
The IND has been unable to handle the number of applications for years. According to the law, the service must announce within six months of an asylum application whether asylum seekers are allowed to stay in the Netherlands. In 2022, the cabinet extended the decision period to fifteen months. In doing so, the cabinet invoked exceptions for cases where many applications are submitted simultaneously.
However, the European Court of Justice ruled in early May that the extension may only be used in the event of a sudden and unforeseeable peak. The IND used the extension due to staff shortages and delays within the organisation itself. According to the European Court, this is not a reason to use the measure.
Therefore, the European Court asked the Dutch Council of State to look at the measure again. The IND is not waiting for this and has itself reduced the term back to six months.
If the IND takes longer than six months to process the application, asylum seekers are entitled to a penalty. Currently, there are 18,250 open applications that have been made since 1 January 2024. Asylum seekers must initiate the procedure to obtain a penalty themselves.