Minor asylum seeker may lose permit after offence
The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) may henceforth revoke a minor’s asylum permit if he or she is convicted of a serious public order offence. Minister for Asylum and Migration Marjolein Faber will amend the regulations in this respect within two weeks.
Until now, a minor could only lose his or her permit if convicted as an adult. The individual also had to have been imposed a sentence of at least six months in that case. The amendment to the Aliens Act Implementation Guidelines now removes those restrictions, allowing the IND to make an individual assessment based on the type of offence and length of stay.
“Especially after the incident in Helmond, I am completely fed up with the fact that we cannot revoke asylum permits in such cases,”
Minister Faber said.
“That is why we are now adjusting the regulations within two weeks. It should be clear that we do not want criminal asylum seekers here.”
Sentence must be served
If asylum seekers are convicted, they must serve their sentence before being deported. During the custodial sentence, the Repatriation and Departure Service will already be doing whatever it can to facilitate the individual’s return. If there is a risk that a person will not return to their country of origin, immigration detention can be imposed after the individual has served their custodial sentence.
Return migration
The return of foreign nationals convicted of criminal offences was also a very high priority in 2024. Where possible, they leave the Netherlands following their sentence. In 2024, this was achieved in 960 out of 1,220 cases (almost 80%). These are, for the rest, overall figures that do not only pertain to minors.
Originally published at https://www.government.nl/latest/news/2025/01/17/minor-asylum-seeker-may-lose-permit-after-offence
