The Netherlands has extended the deadline for processing requests for refugee status
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The Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Netherlands (Immigratie-en Naturalisatiedienst, IND) reports that from now on, the processing time for an application for refugee status will be from 6 to 15 months. Such changes will affect only those Ukrainians who have decided to obtain refugee status in the Netherlands.
The Government of the country made the relevant decision at the end of August due to the large number of requests from asylum seekers.
In July alone, 4,376 applications for refugee status were submitted in the Netherlands, which is ten percent more than in June, when 3,979 applications were submitted.
Also, over the past few years, court decisions and European legislation have forced the service to explain in more detail the reasons for making decisions, which has significantly increased the workload of the organization's employees. However, the IND informs that they will strive to make a decision on each application in the shortest possible time, so that refugees receive information about their future in the Netherlands as soon as possible.
The corresponding decision will affect applications whose consideration period has not expired by September 27:
• on granting refugee status;
• repeated requests within the framework of the family reunification program.
According to the new procedure, the service will work until January 1, 2023, after which the Government will re-examine this issue and decide whether it is necessary to return to the old terms of processing applications or whether it makes sense to leave an extended period of processing documents.
We will remind you! You can find out about the basic rules for entry and residence, education and finding housing in the Netherlands here.
We draw your attention to the fact that a special support program - temporary protection - has been developed for citizens of Ukraine in EU countries.
Refugee status is recommended to a limited number of Ukrainians, because it has a number of significant restrictions - a ban on leaving the country and the inability to work during the application review period, etc. It is usually granted to those people whose lives are in danger in their country of residence because of their religious, political or other beliefs, they are journalists or political figures, and they are persecuted.
We talked in more detail about the difference between the status of temporary protection and the status of a refugee earlier in our material at the link.
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