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NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 11:07
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Isa Huizing
Domestic publisher
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Isa Huizing
Domestic publisher
Temporary protection of third-country nationals ends on March 4 this year. This was established by the Council of State with a sentence filed against the State. After this date, third-country nationals are no longer entitled to reside in the Netherlands under the European Temporary Protection Directive. The Council also determined that the Secretary of State for Justice and Security ended the temporary protection too early.
Third-country nationals are people who had a temporary residence permit in Ukraine and fled to the Netherlands due to the war. They worked or studied in Ukraine. There are around 2,900 third-country nationals in the Netherlands.
Temporary Protection Directive
The Temporary Protection Directive was established by the European Union at the turn of the century. The aim was to ensure that people on the run receive help without overburdening asylum systems in Member States. People covered by this agreement have the right to housing, medical care, education and work.
It is up to the European Council to decide whether temporary protection will come into force and for how long. This happened for the first time in March 2022, after the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
At the beginning of the war, Europe stipulated that this directive applied to all those who had fled Ukraine. Shortly afterwards it was decided that the directive applies only to all those who have Ukrainian nationality and to people with a permanent Ukrainian residence permit. Member states could decide independently whether third-country nationals were also covered by the directive.
The Netherlands took a generous stance and stated at the time that anyone who fled Ukraine would be subject to this protection directive. The same applies to third-country nationals. As a result, just like the refugees of Ukrainian nationality, they were hosted in the municipal shelter and were able to work.
Indications of abuse
But after indications that people were abusing the system, the government decided to end the rights of non-Ukrainians. The refuge would then be canceled as of September 4, 2023. Some third-country nationals then appealed to the court. Some judges ruled in their favor, others ruled that the government could revoke their right to stay.
Due to these contradictory rulings, the cases were referred to the highest administrative court, the Council of State. It is now established that the Secretary of State for Justice and Security could not revoke the right of residence on his own initiative last year because this group was covered by the European regime until March this year.
This ruling now provides definitive clarity on the position of this group of refugees. They will have to leave the Netherlands in March. However, they can apply for a residence permit for reasons such as asylum. Some of them come from countries that the government considers safe, which makes the chances of compliance minimal.
2024-01-17 10:07:56
#Reception #thirdcountry #nationals #Ukraine #March