The Government of the Netherlands has imposed a moratorium on the processing of applications for refugee status submitted by applicants from among Russians of military age and deserted conscripts of the Russian armed forces. For the next six months, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) will leave such cases on hold without making any decisions on them. This was announced by Minister of Justice and Security Eric van der Burg (Eric van der Burg). The decision will enter into force immediately after publication in the Government Gazette (Staatscourant).
Why was such a decision made?
Like other EU countries, the Netherlands grants refugee status only to foreigners who are in danger of death or severe unjust persecution in their home country. To establish the presence of such dangers, official reports on the state of affairs in a particular country are used. Currently, the official communication dated April 7, 2021, which was drawn up before the start of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine, is used in relation to Russia. Accordingly, the document does not take into account the current risks for Russians of military age and deserted conscripts if they refuse to go to war.
The position of this category of asylum seekers in the Netherlands is uncertain. The IND does not have enough official information to make informed decisions. There is no up-to-date, unambiguous and reliable information on the extent of the forced use of Russian conscripts in the war against Ukraine. There is no clear information about what threatens conscripts if they refuse to participate in the war. For this reason, they introduced a moratorium on deciding on the applications of this category of refugees and on their expulsion from the Netherlands in case of refusal. The moratorium will last for six months.
Who is subject to the moratorium?
According to Russian laws, men from 18 to 27 years old can be sent to military service by conscription - this category of citizens of the Russian Federation is called conscripts. The moratorium applies to Russian conscripts and deserted soldiers called up for compulsory military service in the Russian armed forces who have applied for refugee status in the Netherlands.
Within six months, these petitions will not be considered, no decisions will be made on them, including refusal, so that Russian conscripts and deserters-conscripts cannot be expelled from the Netherlands during the term of this moratorium. Added to this is the processing time for applications: depending on the circumstances, the maximum processing time for asylum applications is 18 or 21 months. All asylum seekers are under the protection of the Netherlands until a decision is made to reject the application. Those of the refugees who do not have the means to live will be provided with housing and cash benefits.
The moratorium decision does not apply to other categories of refugees from Russia, including contract servicemen who deserted from the RF Armed Forces. For these categories of asylum seekers, the IND does not have enough information to make an informed decision on granting or denying refugee status.
Granting refugee status allows you to obtain a residence permit valid for 5 years, and after that, an indefinite document for residence. But refugee is not the only option for immigrating to the Netherlands. Learn about other reasons to move to this country from our article.
Publication Date: 13.07.2022
