IND decided too late? You can demand a penalty payment
The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) paid nearly 99 million euros in penalty payments to asylum seekers in the first half of 2026. This is already more than in all of 2025, when the amount was approximately 79 million euros, and nearly three times as much as in 2024. Nine people received more than one hundred thousand euros. These amounts are not a reward or a bonus: they are compensation because the service failed to decide on their application in time.
What it comes down to is the decision period. By law, the IND must decide on an asylum application within six months. In practice, it takes much longer. The average processing time was 67 weeks in 2025, compared to 31 weeks in 2022. In the general asylum procedure, applicants were waiting over two years at the beginning of 2026 before they had their interviews with the service. The backlogs are increasing. The Netherlands Court of Audit determined that, according to the IND, clearing the backlog of old files will take at least another five years.
What can an applicant do themselves? Anyone waiting longer than the legal term can issue a notice of default to the IND in writing. If a decision is still not forthcoming, an appeal for failure to decide on time can be filed with the court, and the judge can impose a penalty payment. Please note: this goes through the court and is not automatic. The time limits are short, and it is wise to seek advice first. Funded legal aid is possible; a lawyer or a refugee support center can assess whether the time limit in your case has truly expired and which step is appropriate.
The service itself says the money does not help. Director Rhodia Maas previously stated: "We want to decide faster, but we simply cannot." The amounts are politically controversial, and there is talk in The Hague about abolishing these compensations. That makes it extra important to know which rights currently apply.
Practical: check your decision or the letter from the IND to see which time limit applies and when it started. Keep all mail. Always report changes of address; otherwise, you will miss notices that are tied to a deadline.