Even the controversial measure that makes family reunification temporarily impossible does not stand up in court. The Breda court ruled that Mustafa’s family from Turkey, who fled to the Netherlands in the summer of 2021, could come to the Netherlands immediately.
The asylum seeker does not want his full name known because he fears that his family is in danger. Foreign Minister Eric van der Burg said he wanted to wait for the judge’s decision before deciding whether to withdraw the measure.
Earlier, in a similar case, a decision by the temporary judicial protection judge in Haarlem meant that the family of a person with Syrian status was allowed to enter the Netherlands immediately. He had requested urgent injunction: the investigating judge would then review the general outlines of whether the appeal to the IND had a chance of success. In Mustafa’s case, the IND had agreed to skip the appeal and take the dispute to a court immediately.
With the postponement of family reunification, the cabinet wants to limit the flow of asylum seekers. Under the new rule, family members of asylum seekers who are allowed to stay in the Netherlands will have to wait up to 15 months before arriving in the Netherlands if the holder of the relevant status has not previously had an apartment.
jumping profession
Mustafa’s youngest child was two months old when he ran away. He stayed in Turkey with his wife and daughter (now 6 years old). Mustafa got a residence permit in early 2022 and soon asked if his family could come as well. His wife and children were allowed to enter the Netherlands in November but will have to wait until 11 May 2023 for their visas. Now they live in Kyrgyzstan.
Van der Burg, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Justice and Security, said he was examining the decision. She has previously described the suspension of family reunification as a painful measure, but she believes it is necessary because of the pressure on admission.
The court ruled that the suspension of family reunification violates the Aliens Act 2000, the “Family Reunification Directive”, the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights and the International Convention on the Rights of the Child.
consequences of other things
Wil Eikelboom, president of the Asylum Lawyers Association, says this decision is “much more severe” than a so-called interim measure in Haarlem.
In the case of an injunction, an appeal is still pending at the IND, and the injunction judge only roughly examines whether that appeal has a chance of success. The court has now considered the dispute in its entirety. The main trial is currently pending in Arnhem and Amsterdam as well, and the judge in Amsterdam will decide tomorrow.
It’s still a decision between the two sides. Eikelboom speculates that other judges, some junior judges, will see the decision as a guide, but may deviate from it. But in practice he did not expect this.
Theoretically, the Minister of Justice could appeal to the Council of State against Mustafa’s decision. If the state decides in favor of Mustafa, he can still apply to the European Court of Human Rights, but this process takes years.
Source: NOS
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
