A husband and wife discuss legal matters together at the asylum seekers' centre in Rijswijk.
Source: Merkportaal
Article

The IND decides which country should process your asylum application

Last updated: 28/03/2025, 10:34

The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) investigates whether the European country where you first claimed asylum is responsible for your asylum application. If so, you must return to that country. The IND can also decide that the Netherlands is responsible for your asylum application after all.

The IND investigates which country should process your asylum application

The IND
will ask the first European country where you applied for asylum to process your application. If the IND decides that this country is responsible for your asylum application, you will receive a letter. This letter is called the 'voornemen' (intention).

The IND asks the other European country to process your asylum application

The IND must file a request with the first European country where you applied for asylum within 3 months. If your fingerprints were found in one of the systems, the IND must even file a request with this country within 2 months. If this is not done in time, the Netherlands must process your asylum application itself.

The other country in Europe accepts or refuses your asylum application

The other European country must respond to the request to let you travel back within 1 month. If your fingerprint is found in the system, the country must respond even within 2 weeks. If the country does not respond in time, that country will be responsible for your asylum application anyway.

If you need to return to the other European country, you can get help from a lawyer

If the IND decides that you will not be granted asylum in the Netherlands, you can get help from a lawyer. After your lawyer's response, the IND will definitively determine which country is responsible for your asylum application.

If after this the IND still thinks that the other European country should examine your asylum application, you must return to that country. If the IND thinks that the Netherlands should examine your asylum application, then your application will be processed in the general asylum procedure.

You can appeal the IND's decision

Your lawyer can help you appeal to the court. The court will then examine whether the IND has carried out your Dublin procedure properly. The court will assess whether the IND made the right decision by not processing your asylum application.

The IND may decide that the Netherlands does have responsibility for your asylum application.


Did this information help you?


The information you will find on this platform comes from the human rights organisation VluchtelingenWerk Nederland, in cooperation with its partners.
In collaboration with Contentful