Unnecessarily harsh: the Netherlands tightens the European Migration Pact even further
The European Pact on Migration and Asylum entered into force on 12 June 2026. Instead of prioritising careful and humane implementation, the Netherlands has introduced additional measures that are not required by the pact and will make the asylum system harsher and more complicated.
Even longer waiting times
The choices made by the Dutch government will put the protection of people seeking asylum under even greater pressure. The Netherlands Court of Audit has already warned that waiting times in the asylum procedure are likely to increase even further.
The reason is clear. The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) will have to focus mainly on new applications. As a result, more than 50,000 people who are already waiting for a decision may not receive one for several years. That means years of uncertainty. Years in which people cannot move on, reunite with their families, or start rebuilding their lives.
Greater risk of mistakes
Important safeguards will also be removed from the asylum procedure. Access to a lawyer will become more limited, and independent support will come under pressure. This increases the risk of mistakes. And in an asylum procedure, mistakes can have life-changing consequences. People who do need protection may be wrongly rejected.
Stricter rules for family reunification
The Netherlands is also significantly tightening the rules on family reunification. This is not required under the European Migration Pact. It is a political choice made by the Dutch government. Such a choice is unlikely to withstand scrutiny by European courts.
People who are allowed to stay in the Netherlands may, in many cases, be unable to bring their partner or children to safety for years. Families will remain separated. Children will grow up without one of their parents. Others will be forced to stay behind in unsafe situations.
Pending applications will also fall under the new rules. This creates even more uncertainty for families who are already in the middle of the procedure, at precisely the moment when stability is urgently needed to start rebuilding a life.
European cooperation is important for a functioning asylum system. But this must go hand in hand with careful, fair and humane implementation at national level. And that is where, in our view, things are going wrong.
Myrthe Wijnkoop, asylum and migration expert at the Dutch Council for Refugees
Detaining children will remain possible
Finally, it will still be possible to detain children during the asylum border procedure. We find this unacceptable. Detention is proven to be harmful to children and can leave deep and lasting scars.
A verbal assurance that this will not happen in practice is not enough. Only clear safeguards in law can ensure that children are not detained in future. That certainty is necessary.
Additional measures are not necessary
The additional measures have now been adopted by the Dutch Senate. We are deeply disappointed by this outcome. These measures make asylum policy unnecessarily harsh, and their consequences will affect people now and, in the years, ahead.
The Dutch Council for Refugees will closely monitor how these laws affect people in practice. We will continue to stand up for refugees, challenge harmful measures and push for a fairer, more humane asylum system; wherever and whenever this is needed.
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