The automatic approval of Syrian asylum has been halted
The Dutch Deputy Minister of Justice, David van Wil, stated that asylum applications submitted by Syrians will no longer be treated automatically in the Netherlands following the fall of the Assad regime, but will be assessed individually based on each case.
This shift in policy comes amid a state of political uncertainty regarding who will take over the portfolio of asylum and immigration after the far-right withdrew from the government coalition. Van Wyl noted that Syria is now classified as experiencing the lowest levels of 'random violence', meaning that general insecurity is no longer a sufficient reason to grant asylum. However, there are vulnerable groups.
As part of the policy change, the state has begun to reduce its support for voluntary return and reintegration to its previous level. The minister explained that refugees who choose to return voluntarily to Syria will receive 815 euros in cash for the first days after arrival, and up to 2000 euros in in-kind support for reintegration.
Last week, judges ruled that the latest State Department report on Syria must be published, after the government decided to keep all national security reports classified. The report indicated that the security situation in Syria remains "fragile," "unstable," and "volatile." The government had announced in May that it would not publish country of origin reports that assess political and security conditions in foreign countries and are used to determine asylum decisions, a decision that faced severe criticism from lawyers and advocacy groups.
The Netherlands suspended processing asylum applications from Syrians last December for a period of six months, amid uncertainty about the impact of the ousting of Bashar al-Assad and whether return is safe. Currently, around 160,000 Syrians live in the Netherlands. In 2023, temporary residence was granted to about 27,000 refugees, more than half of whom were Syrians. According to a survey of 3,000 Syrians in 2022, the majority do not plan to return even if conditions improve in their country.
The organization VluchtelingenWerk Nederland described the minister's decision as "hasty," pointing out that the official report shows that the security situation in the country remains volatile and unstable. It added: "There are still active armed conflicts in the country: levels of violence fluctuate and conditions may vary by region and even from week to week." The Dutch branch of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) also stated that "it is believed that the criteria for ending the refugee status of Syrians have not currently been met."