The government will maintain the provision to postpone family reunification. A judge ruled on Monday that family members of a Syrian woman with a residence permit can travel to the Netherlands immediately. This specific ruling has no bearing on policy, the cabinet said.
According to Secretary of State Eric van der Burg (Asylum), “specific circumstances” played a role in this case. The court “did not rule on the family reunification provision as a whole”, he believes.
For this reason, the Cabinet does not intend to sweep the measure off the table. The agreements on asylum policy that the coalition made in August will therefore remain in place for the time being. Family members of status holders can only come to the Netherlands if a home is available. After fifteen months of waiting, they are immediately entitled to a visa.
“Incomprehensible,” says Wil Eikelboom of the cabinet’s position. He is president of the Association of Asylum Lawyers and Jurists in the Netherlands (VAJN).
It is true that the judge in the Syrian family case issued a preliminary ruling taking into account individual circumstances. At the same time, this court also ruled that the family reunification measure conflicts with the Dutch law on aliens and the European directive on family reunification. So this case is definitely about general politics, Eikelboom says.
Cabinet awaits superior court judgment
However, the cabinet wants to await a ruling from a higher court. The case of the Syrian woman was heard this week by a so-called preliminary relief judge. This is a court that decides in cases of an urgent nature.
It won’t be long before a similar case is heard by a three-judge court. Then three judges will consider an issue. Subsequently, an appeal to the supreme court can be filed.
According to Eikelboom, the course of events has “all the makings of a delaying tactic”. He finds it incomprehensible that the cabinet does not seek advice from the State Council on its own initiative. Much of the opposition has already pushed for it. From the outset, the parties have doubted the legal validity of the provision, because various experts have raised the alarm. A proposal to test the policy was also rejected by the coalition.
The Dutch Refugee Council is also surprised by the cabinet’s decision to maintain the measure. The organization says dozens of cases from status holders are coming in. Twenty cases have already been brought to court since the new policy was introduced, confirms the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND).
