The Dutch Council of State has upheld a decision by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) that Syrian asylum seekers who return to their home country after submitting asylum claims in the Netherlands should not be granted residence permits.
This ruling arose from the case of a Syrian refugee who travelled six times to Assad regime-controlled areas in Syria. Following this, the IND concluded that women are no longer at risk in Syria and thus do not require protection in the Netherlands. This decision aligns with another similar case that was recorded.
No real threat?
The Dutch authorities are emphasizing stricter immigration and asylum policies, arguing that asylum seekers who return to Syria demonstrate that there is no real threat to their lives in their home country, thereby weakening the justification for granting them international protection.
In the first case, a 31-year-old Syrian refugee visited Syria six times between 2013 and 2021. During these visits, she stayed in regime-controlled areas for up to three months, working as a teacher. After returning to the Netherlands in 2021 and submitting an asylum application, her request was rejected by the IND. The Council of State based its decision on the assessment that there was no genuine threat to her life upon returning to Syria, negating her need for protection in the Netherlands.
Compelling Evidence
The second case involves another Syrian woman, 41, who received a residence permit in the Netherlands in 2018 but returned to Syria to visit her sick mother. Due to unexpected developments, including her mother’s death and the birth of her child, she remained in Syria longer than planned. After returning to the Netherlands in 2020 and submitting a new asylum application, her request was denied. The court justified this decision by stating that the woman did not encounter any problems with the Syrian regime during her stay.
The Council of State’s decision reaffirms the right of the IND to consider a refugee’s visits to their home country when deciding on asylum claims. However, the court also emphasized that the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum must provide compelling evidence proving that the individual is not at risk if they return to Syria again.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
