Syrians applying for a residence permit in the Netherlands may soon find it more difficult than before. Following the fall of the Bashar Al Assad regime, the country policy will be adjusted, writes outgoing Minister David van Weel (Justice and Security) in a letter to Parliament on Tuesday.
Until the end of last year, a Syrian applying for asylum in the Netherlands had a high chance of receiving a residence permit. The situation in the country was very unsafe due to the ongoing civil war.
However, since the fall of the dictatorial regime of Al Assad last December, the situation in Syria has changed. It is still unstable and volatile, as was already evident from an official report last week. But not everyone is at great risk of becoming a victim of violence in the country.
This means that a Syrian must be able to prove that the situation in Syria is still unsafe for him or her. For the LGBTQIA+ community and Alawites, a religious minority to which Al Assad also belongs, the situation in Syria is still too unsafe anyway, according to Van Weel.
In general, the position of other groups is “reasonably positive,” writes Van Weel, who is temporarily replacing outgoing asylum minister Marjolein Faber. This would mean that the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) will soon be able to reject many more asylum applications from Syrians.
The temporary decision freeze for Syrian refugees that Faber had instituted will be lifted on June 14. The IND says it will issue a response to the new policy on Wednesday.
Situation in Syria ‘closely’ monitored
With the fall of the Al Assad regime, the “primary source of insecurity that was assumed policy-wise for Syrians” has disappeared, write officials from the Ministry of Asylum and Migration.
However, the situation in the country is not yet stable. For example, the transitional government does not yet have full control everywhere. It is also unclear how the various armed groups in the country will relate to a new government.
Developments in Syria are therefore being closely monitored, write officials from the Ministry of Asylum and Migration. If the situation in the country changes again, the IND will take this into account in its assessment. A new situation sketch is expected in January next year, after which the policy can be adjusted again if necessary.
The new policy initially only applies to current and new asylum applications. There were approximately 16,870 of these on April 30.
Temporary permits not yet revoked
The outgoing cabinet also wishes to examine whether temporary residence permits of Syrians can be revoked. In particular, the PVV, which stepped out of the coalition last week, wanted Syrians to return to their country of origin.
But the situation in Syria is not yet good enough to proceed with such reassessments, writes Van Weel. The commitment of the outgoing cabinet remains to do this “as soon as possible.”
The cabinet was already committed to the voluntary return of Syrians. But returning is not obvious for everyone.