The Dutch government has informed hundreds of overseas students who sought asylum in the Netherlands after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine to leave the country by this week or face expulsion....CONTINUE READING
According to a recent report by Al Jazeera, students and young workers from Africa, the Middle East, and India will face forced deportation if they do not comply with an expulsion order from a Dutch high court. The court ruled that temporary residents who settled in the country after the Russia-Ukraine war must leave by March 4 or risk being deported.
Since then, people impacted have taken to the streets of Amsterdam to protest, accusing the freshly elected far-right Dutch government of discrimination. However, Dutch authorities claimed that the third-country nationals “abused” the protection system.
Lotte van Diepen of Everaert Advocaten, an immigration law company, spoke with Al Jazeera.”No one is arguing that they don’t have the right, and we recognise their move was very generous in the first instance,” van Diepen said in a statement. “But the problem is that those who were already admitted cannot suddenly turn around and say we don’t want them again. “It is an unjust decision with no legal basis.”
According to Minister of Migration Eric van der Burg, the Dutch government has guaranteed 5,000 euros ($5,422) in “remigration” compensation to people who choose to depart voluntarily. He stated that the administration has also given them a further 28 days to plan their escapes; but, following the grace period, persons may be deported.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Isaac Awodola, a Nigerian alumnus of Odessa State University and co-founder of the Derdelanders group representing third-country nationals, expressed trauma from the situation.
He explained that many impacted people wish to remain since they are still connected to Ukraine. “There are those who need to return to recoup lost certificates, or those, like medical students, who need to stay close because, although their university studies are held online, they have to be physically present for practical exams – and flight costs from their countries are not cheap.”
Other third-country nationals expressed similar concerns, stating that the war had damaged their own country, Ukraine.
The Dutch authorities have asked third-country nationals who do not feel comfortable returning home to apply for asylum, although the majority do not meet that criteria. Currently, approximately 2,700 – 2,900 refugees remain from the original 4,500 who arrived in the Netherlands.
