Asylum in the Netherlands

If you enter by land, via Belgium or Germany, or are an unaccompanied minor, report at the application centre in Ter Apel. If you arrive by plane or boat, apply at Schiphol before passing border control. Applications cannot be made at Dutch embassies abroad.

Screening records identity, nationality, documents, biometrics, family, travel route and main reasons, and checks medical needs, vulnerabilities and security. A rest and preparation period of up to three days follows. The IND then decides on one of five tracks: the border procedure (Schiphol), the Dublin responsibility procedure, the admissibility procedure, the accelerated procedure (for example for safe countries) or the standard procedure, which includes a personal interview with an interpreter and an audio recording.

Applying is free. Screening is done once: by the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee at Schiphol and by the IND at Ter Apel. The reception and preparation phase at Ter Apel lasts at most three days; you answer questions on a tablet or with IND help and give biometrics. Unaccompanied minors get a guardian from Nidos, and children under 15 are placed with a foster family. A temporary document proves your application until your W-document identity card is ready.

The asylum residence document is valid for three years and can be renewed when it expires within three months; the permit itself lasts until the IND withdraws it. You may work without a TWV, must report changes to the IND, and after five years of residence can apply for EU long-term residence. If the IND intends to withdraw your permit, you can respond in writing within six weeks. After a rejection a repeat application is possible.

The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) provides a place to sleep, food, medical care and support if you are entitled. IND staff give free general information at Ter Apel, and the Legal Aid Board arranges a lawyer, usually free of charge, whom you meet before the interview.

IND staff wearing green key cords give general information, not personal advice, until you have your own lawyer; in the border procedure a lawyer is assigned straight away. The interview is held with an independent interpreter and recorded, and you and your lawyer receive the report. COA decides on reception and a TB test may be done.

A positive decision leads to an asylum residence permit stating your status. A negative decision may include a return decision and an entry ban; you can appeal to a Dutch court with your lawyer.