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THE HAGUE – Of the 2,760 people who fled Ukraine and have a different nationality, 740 have informed the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) that they want to continue their asylum application. This is announced by the Ministry of Justice. The State Council has decided that these “third-country nationals” no longer have a right of residence. However, if they apply for asylum, they are allowed to stay in the Netherlands in the meantime.
For third-country nationals, the right of residence regulated by the Temporary Protection Directive (RTB) will expire from March 4th. After this date they must leave the Netherlands within 28 days. An application was launched for this group upon arrival in the Netherlands. At the time of the Russian invasion, they were in Ukraine with a temporary residence permit, often for work or study purposes.
After receiving a message from the IND, they were able to indicate that they wanted to proceed with their asylum application. Third-country nationals who have not already done so can still submit a new asylum application to the IND “if they believe that they cannot return to their country of origin because they are unsafe there.”
In practice, third-country nationals can resume the asylum procedure until they actually have to leave the Netherlands (April 2). Until a decision is made, they are entitled to be admitted to the Central Office for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA).
Outgoing State Secretary Eric van der Burg (Asylum) believes that the majority of third-country nationals can return safely to their country of origin. “As long as they are not afraid of violence or persecution there, they can apply for asylum here. It is good that after a long period of uncertainty there is now clarity for this group of third-country nationals.”
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