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Temporary return to Syria may be grounds for rejecting an asylum application
Published at: 8/28/2024, 12:00 AM

The highest court in the Netherlands decides that the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) may sometimes reject asylum applications from Syrians. Previously, almost all Syrians were granted asylum in the Netherlands because Syria is unsafe for most Syrians. This now no longer applies to Syrians who have temporarily returned to Syria.

The IND rejected 2 applications for asylum from Syrians who had temporarily returned to live in Syria

The

IND
rejected the asylum claims of 2 Syrian women because they had temporarily returned to Syria. The women had both come to the Netherlands, then returned to Syria and then returned to the Netherlands to apply for asylum. The IND found that the temporary return to Syria before the women applied for asylum showed that the women were not in danger in Syria. Therefore, the IND rejected the asylum claims.

According to the highest court in the Netherlands, the IND may reject these asylum requests

The Syrian women's lawyers disagree. They believe the IND should not have been allowed to reject the applications because Syrians are still in danger upon return. Even if they were not in danger on a previous return, it may still be dangerous for them now. According to the lawyers, it is unpredictable when someone is in danger in Syria. Yet the

highest court (RvS)
decided on 14 August that the IND may reject the asylum applications.

These are the 2 asylum applications in question

These 2 cases show that the IND can sometimes decide that a Syrian is not granted a residence permit in the Netherlands because it was safe enough for the Syrian to temporarily return to Syria. The IND may then decide by the highest court that a person does not need asylum in the Netherlands.

Case 1
Case 2
This could mean the following for you if you are still in the asylum process

  • Do you come from Syria, apply for asylum in the Netherlands and have not travelled back and forth to Syria for your asylum application? Then these rulings will not affect you.

  • Are you applying for asylum and did you not return to Syria before applying for asylum? Then this does not automatically mean that your asylum application will be rejected. But you must prove to the IND why you are still in danger in Syria. It can be difficult to prove that you are still in danger if you have temporarily returned to Syria.

These 2 issues do not affect if you already have a residence permit or a Dutch passport

  • Do you already have an asylum residence permit? Then that residence permit can be revoked if the IND thinks you are no longer at risk, for example because you returned to Syria before the start of your asylum procedure. The IND was allowed to do that even before the court decided on these 2 cases. So the rule has not changed now that these 2 court cases have taken place. However, the IND does have to investigate your situation properly before they can revoke your permit. Seek help from a lawyer if the IND intends to revoke your asylum residence permit.

  • Do you have a Dutch passport? Then you are a Dutch citizen and your passport cannot be taken away. You have the same rights as all other Dutch citizens. And you can therefore travel freely, including to your country of origin, without losing your passport.

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