The Dutch Asylum Procedure. How does it work?

Go to the site of the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service

Leaflets are being used to inform asylum seekers in the reception locations about the procedure. How does it work and what is to be expected? The following leaflets are distributed:

• Leaflet 'Before your asylum procedure begins'

(also available in Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Dari, Farsi, French, Mongolian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Somali and Tigrinya)

The asylum procedure does not start immediately on your arrival in the Netherlands. You are given time to rest from your journey and to prepare for the General Asylum Procedure. You are also expected to do a number of things: you have at least six days to carry them out. The leaflet explains to you what happens before the asylum procedure begins, one step at a time.

• Leaflet 'Your asylum application. Information on the General Asylum Procedure'

(also available in Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Dari, Farsi, French, Mongolian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Somali and Tigrinya)

When you apply for asylum, you are officially asking the Dutch government for a residence permit. You need this permit to be allowed to live in the Netherlands. The asylum procedure begins after you have put in your application: it is a legal procedure during which the Dutch government decides whether you are going to be given a residence permit or not. 

• Leaflet 'Your asylum application. Information on the Border Procedure'. 

(also available in Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Dari, Farsi, French, Mongolian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Somali and Tigrinya)

When you apply for asylum at the Dutch border – at an airport or harbour – you may be refused admission to the Netherlands: officially, you are not yet allowed to enter the Netherlands. In that case, a different asylum procedure applies to you.

• Leaflet 'The Dublin procedure: which country is responsible for your asylum application?'

(also available in Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Dari, Farsi, French,  Mongolian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Somali and Tigrinya)

You have applied for asylum in the Netherlands. However, It appears from the investigation made by the Vreemdelingenpolitie (Aliens Police, ) and/or the Royal Netherlands Military Constabulary, that another country might be responsible for dealing with your asylum application. The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) now has to investigate whether another country is indeed responsible for dealing with your application for asylum. As a result, your asylum procedure will take a different course from the one described in the leaflets called “Before your asylum procedure begins” and “Your application for asylum”. This leaflet explains those differences to you.

• Leaflet 'The simplified procedure'

(also available in Albanian, Arabic, French, Hindi, Mongolian, Macedonian and Serbo-Croatian)

If you apply for asylum and you are from a safe country of origin or you already have international protection in another member state of the European Union, this leaflet is meant for you. The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) is likely to conclude that you do not meet these conditions. Your asylum application will therefore be processed in a simplified procedure.

• Leaflet 'The Extended Asylum Procedure'

(also available in Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Dari, Farsi, French, Mongolian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Somali and Tigrinya)

The General Asylum Procedure takes eight days. However, sometimes the IND needs more time to investigate matters and, in consequence, the IND will deal with your asylum application in the Extended Asylum Procedure. This leaflet will explain to you what happens in the Extended Asylum Procedure.