The Council of State will rule in mid-February on restrictions on travel in connection with asylum status holders

ANP

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 13:58

The restriction on travel in connection with asylum status holders was once again defended at a session at the Council of State today by the state lawyer, who called the rule “necessary”.

The Council of State said it will strive to rule in mid-February on the measure that has been rejected by several judges and has therefore been suspended by the State Secretary yesterday.

“The State Secretary is confronted with court rulings,” the State Attorney said today. “That is why he has deemed it practical to suspend that measure at this time. In order not to further burden the courts and the legal profession. It says nothing about what the State Secretary thinks of this measure and about its legal sustainability.”

Contrary to European law

The family reunification measure is part of the asylum agreement that the cabinet concluded in August 2022 to solve the reception crisis in the short term. The measure took effect on 3 October 2022. According to this rule, family members of someone who has an asylum permit (a status holder) must wait six months longer before they are allowed to come to the Netherlands.

In the treatment by the Council of State, the central question is whether the restriction on family reunification is in conflict with national and European law. Three lawyers again argued yes.

Three lawsuits were dealt with at the hearing. In those cases, judges ruled that family members of beneficiaries must come to the Netherlands as soon as possible. This has already happened in these three cases.

Political motives don’t count

State lawyer Elisabeth Pietermaat, who represents the Secretary of State, called the rule “painful but necessary”. According to her, this will prevent the shelter from becoming even more full. In addition, she argued that everyone in the Netherlands is also entitled to care, but sometimes people have to wait for it.

One of the asylum lawyers said that the political motivation behind the rule does not matter: “The only question is whether this can be done within the limits of the law. It is not.”

Definition of ‘as soon as’

The lawyers pointed to the guideline that applies if family reunification has been accepted. It states that once the application has been accepted, the Member State concerned will allow entry to the family member or members.

The state attorney then said that the word “as soon as” does not imply a specific time. A lawyer disputed that, and read out the definition in the Van Dale: “immediately after”.

The State Attorney then said that it cannot be concluded from the directive that the (immediate) entry of family members can be enforced.

How often has the measure been applied?

The housing measure has been applied to approximately 1780 family members. This figure also includes applicants who have already received suitable housing, wait 15 months since the start of their application or applicants who fall under an exception.

The figure of the number of people still waiting abroad until an entry visa can be collected is therefore lower in practice.

(Source: IND Metis, the figures are up to January 2, 2023)

Last year, several courts had declared the cabinet’s restriction on family reunification illegal, after which State Secretary Van der Burg appealed to the Council of State.

The restriction on family reunification has been suspended for the time being for new cases. Van den Burg said yesterday in a letter to Parliament that it is expected that other courts will ignore the family reunification measure, “so that the useful effect of the measure is currently lacking”.

He said he would await the judgment of the Council of State before making a final decision on the measure.