Prolonged stay in an asylum seekers center hinders rapid integration. The longer the reception lasts, the less favorable it is for mental health, the command of Dutch and especially the labor market position of beneficiaries. This is the conclusion of the Social and Cultural Planning Office in a long-term study into the position and living situation of beneficiaries who have settled in the Netherlands since 2014.
In 2014 and 2015, so many asylum seekers came to the Netherlands and Europe, especially from Syria and Eritrea, that there was talk of a refugee crisis. The then cabinet of VVD and PvdA decided to have these people followed over a longer period of time to see how they integrate into Dutch society. One of the research institutions involved is the SCP, which is publishing its final report today.
The most important point that the SCP makes is that to be successful in the Netherlands, rapid integration is necessary. And that is precisely a problem because of long waiting times at the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) and because of the limited options for getting a home of your own.
The people who came to the Netherlands in 2014 were given a place in society faster than the people who came here later. Asylum seekers who received an asylum permit in 2014 had to wait an average of 110 days for this. For beneficiaries who received their permit in 2019, the waiting time has increased to an average of 208 days.
Important stumbling block
Even if they have a residence permit, status holders often have to stay in reception for a while before they can move to a home. That currently applies to more than 11,000 people. Due to the tight housing market, there is no home for them.
The shortage of social housing is another major stumbling block for status holders. There was also a shortage of housing during the refugee crisis, but that was temporarily resolved with the conversion of schools and offices. It seems almost inevitable to the SCP to do that again. In this way, the pressure on the already heated local housing market can be limited.
According to the SCP, another temporary solution could be an extended form of asylum reception, the so-called Interim provision. Several status holders live in a living space in such an intermediate facility. They then wait for a regular home.
New Civic Integration Act
The SCP advises the cabinet and municipalities to start the integration process as early as the asylum reception. Not only status holders should be able to make use of this, also promising asylum seekers.
They are now only allowed to follow Dutch lessons for a limited number of hours per week. There is confidence in the new Civic Integration Act that will come into effect next year. This gives municipalities the opportunity to get acquainted with the new resident already in the asylum seekers’ centers, so that more customization can be provided.
According to the researchers of the SCP, status holders get a better start if there is already a structural offer of language lessons and volunteer work in the reception. There should also be more opportunities to do paid work during the reception period. This could be in sectors with a shortage of personnel.
Small and temporary jobs
A comparison with other European countries is difficult, according to the SCP, but it can be said that beneficiaries do not work much in the first years of their stay in the Netherlands. The people who have started working mainly have small and temporary jobs.
There also seems to be less urgency to help status holders find work. Several local initiatives have since been terminated. The corona crisis also plays a role in this. Due to corona, the execution of specific programs is more difficult, they are delayed or have been postponed or stopped.
SCP researcher Jaco Dagevos, also professor by special appointment of integration and migration at Erasmus University Rotterdam, is saddened to see that the Afghan interpreters who have been brought to the Netherlands are now housed in a temporary pavilion in Heumensoord near Nijmegen. “It’s reminiscent of the emergency shelter in 2015,” he recalls. “And our research has shown that the people who have moved often had more difficulty with integration.”
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